Det Gda Adrian Donohoe, capital murder trial, Aaron Brady

Victims of 'creeper' burglaries give evidence at Special Criminal Court

Det Gda Adrian Donohoe, capital murder trial, Aaron Brady

Published: Thu 9 Feb 2023, 3:14 PM

- Paul Neilan -

The Special Criminal Court has heard evidence from the victims of "creeper" break-ins in the case of two men accused of conspiring to commit those burglaries and of the robbery of a credit union during which Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe was shot dead.

Brendan Treanor (34), previously of Emer Terrace, Castletown Road, Dundalk, Co Louth, and James Flynn (32) from South Armagh are charged that between September 11, 2012, and January 23, 2013, they conspired with convicted Garda-killer Aaron Brady and others to enter residential premises with the intention of stealing car keys.

Both men are also charged with the robbery of €7,000 at Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan, Co Louth, on January 25, 2013. They have pleaded not guilty to each charge.

Brady (31) previously of New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, is serving a life sentence with a 40-year minimum having been found guilty of murdering Det Gda Adrian Donohoe and of the burglary at Lordship. He denied any involvement in the robbery and is awaiting an appeal against his conviction.

The prosecution alleges that Mr Treanor and Mr Flynn were part of a group of young men who conspired to break into houses to steal car keys and then quietly make off with the cars.

At the Special Criminal Court yesterday (Wednesday), Detective Garda Neil Brady said gardaí had been investigating several "creeper" style burglaries in the area that occurred in Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Westmeath during late 2012 and into January 2013.

Det Gda Brady said the investigation centred on burglaries where lock barrels on the doors of several homes had been "popped" overnight in order to take car keys and silently steal vehicles.

Linus Baranauskas was one of five witnesses who told Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, that his car was stolen from his home at Newpark, Virginia, Co Cavan, in October 2012.

Mr Baranauskas said that he woke up on the morning of October 11, 2012, and his wife asked him where his car was. Mr Baranauskas said he went to check the driveway for the car, which he had parked there the night before. Mr Baranauskas said the car keys to his Alfa Romeo were also missing from his kitchen table and that the house's front door was ajar.

Gardaí contacted him in the Spring of 2013 to say that they had recovered the car's engine, which they identified by a serial number. The witness said his engine was one of four found by gardaí in the back of a white van on the M1 motorway after gardaí stopped it. Mr Baranauskas said gardaí told him the engines were possibly bound for Romania.

Martin Nolan gave evidence that he was at home at Woodville Place, Clonmellon, Co Westmeath, with his wife and children on January 11, 2013, and had gone to bed at around 11.30pm but was woken up by his wife who said she had heard someone in the house.

Mr Nolan told Mr Grehan that he looked out a window and saw a male around six-foot tall getting into his 2010-registered Toyota Landcruiser and that he shouted at him before the male "took off" in it. Mr Nolan said he saw three other males in a saloon-type vehicle on the road who left the scene. The witness said the lock on the door of the house had been popped.

Lorraine Nolan, Mr Nolan's wife, told Mr Grehan she was woken by a loud bang and thought it had come from their neighbour's car as its lights were blinking but no alarm could be heard from it. Mrs Nolan said she heard the door of their Landcruiser being opened and saw a person inside the vehicle as the cabin lights were on. She described the male in the Landcruiser as having a "very heavy build with a neck like a body-builder". Mrs Nolan said she also saw a male on a nearby corner at the time who "looked like he might have been a look-out" but who had run away in the aftermath.

David Tubridy gave evidence that he was at his home in Brookfield in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, on the same date and that he and his wife discovered their cars stolen the next morning. Mr Tubridy told Mr Grehan that he went to bed before midnight and that he and his wife had parked two Avensis cars outside the house. Mr Tubridy said gardaí examined the house after he contacted them and discovered a popped lock on the side door of the house.

Anne Tubridy, Mr Tubridy's wife, said that when they got up at around 5.30am she noticed her handbag was not on the table where she left it the night before. She said a lock had been popped in a slider door and the keys to both cars were missing.

Mrs Tubridy said a 'satnav' device was in the glovebox of her car and had since been recovered by gardaí. The witness said it was her satnav because of the particular routes and destinations programmed into her 'favourites' section of the device. She said routes recorded on the device after it was stolen featured locations north of the Border to which she had never travelled.

The trial is continuing before Mr Justice Tony Hunt with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Alan Mitchell.