Jury told to find garda not guilty on five counts over alleged motor insurance record tampering
LAST UPDATE
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8 mins ago
A JURY IN the trial of a Limerick garda accused of 'sorting out' motoring offences for drivers were today directed by the trial judge that they should find him not guilty of some of the charges.
Tom Flavin, (51), Rathkeale Garda Station, Co Limerick, should be acquitted of all of the charges as there is no real evidence against him, his barrister, senior counsel, Mark Nicholas, said in his closing speech to the jury today.
Flavin went on trial before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on 27 May accused of 22 counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Today, senior prosecuting counsel, Fiona Murphy, told the jury they were to find Flavin not guilty of five of the charges and that they would consider verdicts on the 17 remaining counts.
Flavin, who denies all the charges, is accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice by entering false motor insurance details on the garda PULSE records computer system, in an attempt to frustrate potential prosecutions against persons for driving without insurance.
The drivers involved were stopped at routine garda checkpoints around the country and asked by the garda present to produce their insurance and licence details at a nominated garda station within ten days of the traffic stop.
All of the drivers asked to do this nominated Rathkeale garda station.
Later, when the investigating garda in each of the stops carried out follow up checks of PULSE, they were satisfied that details entered into the system indicated that the driver in each case was insured.
However, the court heard the drivers were actually not insured and some were even prosecuted in court afterwards after pleading guilty to driving without insurance at the time they were stopped.
In his closing speech to the jury, Nicholas SC, instructed by solicitor Dan O'Gorman, described Flavin as an exemplary garda who had served with dedication in Croom and Rathkeale, Co Limerick, for many years.
Urging the jury to acquit Flavin and not fall into the trap of speculation, Nicholas added there was radically insufficient evidence to support a conviction.
'He served his community without blemish and without any disciplinary blots – you know that from the evidence. When other gardaí came to give evidence, his superiors, they spoke of him very fondly and well – it wasn't far off gushing and they spoke with knowledge,' Nicholas told the jury.
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The defence barrister spoke of the 'unique challenges' gardaí face in Rathkeale as opposed to other jurisdictions.
'People who live down here know it has an enormous population, transient, in and out at various times of the year. One policeman said (the population) quadruples and with that comes its own set of problems and own sets of vehicles – UK car registrations, UK insurance, some not insured, some not being entirely truthful.'
'We know that a certain number of times that people who were pulled up and stopped and asked for their documentation, produced bogus insurance certificates.'
Nicholas said the charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice is an extraordinarily, serious allegation to make against a serving garda.
'That he (Flavin) must have deliberately, knowing the (insurance) certificate to be false, inputted it into the system with the intention that it would frustrate a prosecution. There has been nothing close to this level of proof in this case whatsoever,' added Nicholas.
The court heard evidence of persons providing documents at Rathkeale garda station, however it was unclear who exactly produced what at the Garda station, and what exactly was produced.
Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, said all of the relevant data entries onto PULSE 'were entered under the ID of Thomas Flavin'.
Murphy told the jury that a statute of limitation of 'six months' generally applied in respect of prosecuting offences of driving without insurance.
'It is the prosecution's case that Tom Flavin knew they (the motorists involved) were not covered (by insurance) and that he entered the details onto PULSE to ensure they (appeared) covered,' Murphy told the jury.
'Flavin knew what he was doing, and he did so to ensure those persons were insured (on PULSE) when they were not, in order to ensure there was no prosecution,' Murphy alleged.
The prosecuting barrister told the jury that Tom Flavin enjoyed the presumption of innocence and that the burden of proof 'beyond a reasonable doubt' was all on the prosecution while, Flavin 'has nothin to prove'.
Murphy told the jury the prosecution case was 'a circumstantial case, there is no direct evidence, instead the prosecution relies on indirect evidence'.
It is anticipated the jury will retire to consider its verdicts on each of the 17 counts on Friday.
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Irish Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Jury dismisses allegations Garda 'sorted out' drivers over insurance offences
A serving Garda was today found not guilty by a jury of charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice after allegations he "sorted out" motoring offences for drivers. Garda Tom Flavin was acquitted of a total of 22 counts of allegedly attempting to pervert the course of justice by a jury at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court following an eight-day trial. Today the jury returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on 17 of the charges. Earlier the jury was directed by the trial judge, Colin Daly, to return not guilty verdicts in respect of five counts against Garda Flavin. The long serving and respected Co Limerick Garda, who had consistently denied all of the charges, was supported in court throughout the trial by a large gathering of family, friends and colleagues. On Thursday, Garda Flavin's barrister, senior counsel Mark Nicholas, instructed by solicitor Dan O'Gorman, urged the jury to acquit the garda of all of the charges, and said there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the accused. Garda Flavin was arrested and charged following an investigation by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) and ultimately accused of knowingly entering false motor insurance details on the Garda Pulse computer records system, in an attempt to frustrate potential prosecutions against persons for driving without insurance. His trial heard that the drivers involved were stopped at routine Garda checkpoints around the country and asked by the garda present to produce their insurance and licence details at a nominated Garda station within ten days of the traffic stop. All of the drivers involved nominated Rathkeale garda station, and, later, when the investigating garda in each of the traffic stops carried out follow up checks of Pulse they were satisfied the details entered indicated that the driver in each case was insured. However, the court heard some of the drivers were actually not insured and had actually been prosecuted in court after pleading guilty to driving without insurance. Mr Nicholas told the jury Mr Flavin was an exemplary garda who had served with dedication in Croom and Rathkeale, Co Limerick, for many years. The defence barrister had urged the jury to acquit and not fall into the trap of speculation, remarking to the jury that there was radically insufficient evidence to support a conviction against Garda Flavin. "He (Mr Flavin) served his community without blemish and without any disciplinary blots - you know that from the evidence. When other Gardai came to give evidence, his superiors, they spoke of him very fondly and well - It wasn't far off gushing and they spoke with knowledge," Mr Nicholas told the jury in his closing speech, Thursday. Mr Nicholas spoke of the 'unique challenges' Gardai face in Rathkeale as opposed to other jurisdictions: 'People who live down here know it has an enormous population, transient, in and out at various times of the year. One policeman said (the population) quadruples and with that comes its own set of problems and own sets of vehicles - UK car registrations, UK insurance, some not insured, some not being entirely truthful." "We know that a certain number of times that people who were pulled up and stopped and asked for their documentation, produced bogus insurance certificates." Mr Nicholas said the charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, is an extraordinarily, serious allegation to make against a serving Garda and that the State had "nothing close" to proving its case. The court heard evidence that persons had provided certain documents at Rathkeale garda station, where Garda Flavin was based at the time, however it was unclear who produced the documents nor was it clear what documents they produced. Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, had alleged that the evidence would show that Gda Flavin had "sorted out" the uninsured drivers by inputting data into Pulse to try to frustrate prosecutions against them. However, Ms Murphy had told the jury that the prosecution case was "a circumstantial case" with "no direct evidence". "Instead, the prosecution relies on indirect evidence," Ms Murphy said. Ms Murphy had explained to the jury that a statute of limitation of "six months" generally applied in respect of prosecuting offences of driving without insurance. She had argued that all of the relevant data entries into Pulse "were entered under the ID of Thomas Flavin" and she had alleged that "Tom Flavin knew they (the drivers) were not covered (by insurance) and that he entered the details onto PULSE to ensure they (appeared) covered". "Mr Flavin knew what he was doing, and he did so to ensure those persons were insured (on PULSE) when they were not, in order to ensure there was no prosecution," Ms Murphy had alleged in court. However, after deliberating for three hours and 21 minutes, the jury disagreed and unanimously dismissed all of the allegations that had been made against Gda Flavin, following an expensive and top-level GNBCI (Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation) probe.
The Journal
10 hours ago
- The Journal
Limerick garda found not guilty of charges he 'sorted out' motoring offences for drivers
LAST UPDATE | 21 mins ago A SERVING GARDA has been found not guilty by a jury of charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice after allegations he 'sorted out' motoring offences for drivers. Garda Tom Flavin was acquitted of a total of 22 counts of allegedly attempting to pervert the course of justice by a jury at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court following an eight-day trial. Today, the jury returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on 17 of the charges. Earlier, the jury was directed by the trial judge, Mr Justice Colin Daly, to return not guilty verdicts in respect of five counts against Garda Flavin. The long-serving and respected Co Limerick Garda, who had consistently denied all charges, was supported in court throughout the trial by a large gathering of family friends and colleagues. On Thursday, Garda Flavin's barrister, senior counsel Mark Nicholas, instructed by solicitor Dan O'Gorman, told the jury to acquit the garda of all charges, and said there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the accused. Garda Flavin was arrested and charged following an investigation by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and ultimately accused of knowingly entering false motor insurance details on the Garda Pulse computer records system, in an attempt to frustrate potential prosecutions against persons for driving without insurance. His trial heard that the drivers involved were stopped at routine Garda checkpoints around the country and asked by the garda present to produce their insurance and licence details at a nominated Garda station within ten days of the traffic stop. All the drivers involved nominated Rathkeale garda station, and, later, when the investigating garda in each of the traffic stops carried out follow-up checks of Pulse, they were satisfied the details entered indicated that the driver in each case was insured. However, the court heard some of the drivers were actually not insured and had actually been prosecuted in court after pleading guilty to driving without insurance. Barrister Nicholas told the jury that Garda Flavin was an exemplary officer, who had served with dedication at stations in Croom and Rathkeale, Co Limerick, for many years. The defence barrister had urged the jury to acquit and not fall into the trap of speculation, remarking to the jury that there was radically insufficient evidence to support a conviction against Garda Flavin. '[Garda Flavin] served his community without blemish and without any disciplinary blots – you know that from the evidence,' Nicholas told the jury yesterday. 'When other gardaí came to give evidence, his superiors, they spoke of him very fondly and well. It wasn't far off gushing, and they spoke with knowledge,' he added in his closing speech. Advertisement Mr Nicholas spoke of the 'unique challenges' gardaí face in Rathkeale, as opposed to other jurisdictions. 'People who live down here know it has an enormous population, transient, in and out at various times of the year,' he said. 'One policeman said (the population) quadruples and with that comes its own set of problems and own sets of vehicles – UK car registrations, UK insurance, some not insured, some not being entirely truthful. 'We know that a certain number of times that people who were pulled up and stopped and asked for their documentation, produced bogus insurance certificates.' Nicholas said the charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, is an extraordinarily, serious allegation to make against a serving garda and that the State had 'nothing close' to proving its case. The court heard evidence that persons had provided certain documents at Rathkeale garda station, where Garda Flavin was based at the time, however it was unclear who produced the documents nor was it clear what documents they produced. Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, had alleged that the evidence would show that Garda Flavin had 'sorted out' the uninsured drivers by inputting data into Pulse to try to frustrate prosecutions against them. However, Murphy had told the jury that the prosecution case was 'a circumstantial case' with 'no direct evidence'. 'Instead, the prosecution relies on indirect evidence,' she told the court. Murphy had explained to the jury that a statute of limitation of 'six months' generally applied in respect of prosecuting offences of driving without insurance. She had argued that the relevant data entries into Pulse 'were entered under the ID of Thomas Flavin'. She alleged that Garda Flavin knew the drivers were not covered by insurance and that he 'entered the details onto PULSE to ensure they (appeared) covered'. 'Mr Flavin knew what he was doing,' Murphy said. 'And he did so to ensure those persons were insured (on PULSE) when they were not, in order to ensure there was no prosecution.' After deliberating for three hours and 21 minutes, the jury disagreed with the prosecution's case. They unanimously dismissed all the allegations that had been made against Garda Flavin, following an expensive and top-level Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation probe. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
a day ago
- The Journal
Jury told to find garda not guilty on five counts over alleged motor insurance record tampering
LAST UPDATE | 8 mins ago A JURY IN the trial of a Limerick garda accused of 'sorting out' motoring offences for drivers were today directed by the trial judge that they should find him not guilty of some of the charges. Tom Flavin, (51), Rathkeale Garda Station, Co Limerick, should be acquitted of all of the charges as there is no real evidence against him, his barrister, senior counsel, Mark Nicholas, said in his closing speech to the jury today. Flavin went on trial before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on 27 May accused of 22 counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Today, senior prosecuting counsel, Fiona Murphy, told the jury they were to find Flavin not guilty of five of the charges and that they would consider verdicts on the 17 remaining counts. Flavin, who denies all the charges, is accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice by entering false motor insurance details on the garda PULSE records computer system, in an attempt to frustrate potential prosecutions against persons for driving without insurance. The drivers involved were stopped at routine garda checkpoints around the country and asked by the garda present to produce their insurance and licence details at a nominated garda station within ten days of the traffic stop. All of the drivers asked to do this nominated Rathkeale garda station. Later, when the investigating garda in each of the stops carried out follow up checks of PULSE, they were satisfied that details entered into the system indicated that the driver in each case was insured. However, the court heard the drivers were actually not insured and some were even prosecuted in court afterwards after pleading guilty to driving without insurance at the time they were stopped. In his closing speech to the jury, Nicholas SC, instructed by solicitor Dan O'Gorman, described Flavin as an exemplary garda who had served with dedication in Croom and Rathkeale, Co Limerick, for many years. Urging the jury to acquit Flavin and not fall into the trap of speculation, Nicholas added there was radically insufficient evidence to support a conviction. 'He served his community without blemish and without any disciplinary blots – you know that from the evidence. When other gardaí came to give evidence, his superiors, they spoke of him very fondly and well – it wasn't far off gushing and they spoke with knowledge,' Nicholas told the jury. Advertisement The defence barrister spoke of the 'unique challenges' gardaí face in Rathkeale as opposed to other jurisdictions. 'People who live down here know it has an enormous population, transient, in and out at various times of the year. One policeman said (the population) quadruples and with that comes its own set of problems and own sets of vehicles – UK car registrations, UK insurance, some not insured, some not being entirely truthful.' 'We know that a certain number of times that people who were pulled up and stopped and asked for their documentation, produced bogus insurance certificates.' Nicholas said the charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice is an extraordinarily, serious allegation to make against a serving garda. 'That he (Flavin) must have deliberately, knowing the (insurance) certificate to be false, inputted it into the system with the intention that it would frustrate a prosecution. There has been nothing close to this level of proof in this case whatsoever,' added Nicholas. The court heard evidence of persons providing documents at Rathkeale garda station, however it was unclear who exactly produced what at the Garda station, and what exactly was produced. Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, said all of the relevant data entries onto PULSE 'were entered under the ID of Thomas Flavin'. Murphy told the jury that a statute of limitation of 'six months' generally applied in respect of prosecuting offences of driving without insurance. 'It is the prosecution's case that Tom Flavin knew they (the motorists involved) were not covered (by insurance) and that he entered the details onto PULSE to ensure they (appeared) covered,' Murphy told the jury. 'Flavin knew what he was doing, and he did so to ensure those persons were insured (on PULSE) when they were not, in order to ensure there was no prosecution,' Murphy alleged. The prosecuting barrister told the jury that Tom Flavin enjoyed the presumption of innocence and that the burden of proof 'beyond a reasonable doubt' was all on the prosecution while, Flavin 'has nothin to prove'. Murphy told the jury the prosecution case was 'a circumstantial case, there is no direct evidence, instead the prosecution relies on indirect evidence'. It is anticipated the jury will retire to consider its verdicts on each of the 17 counts on Friday. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
