Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch walked free from court yesterday after being acquitted of David Byrne’s gangland murder – and was warned by gardaí that his life is in danger.
The 60-year-old remained silent as he left the Special Criminal Court after the not-guilty verdict for the 2016 Regency Hotel killing. After he got into a taxi, Hutch was brought to see friends and family in Dublin’s north inner city.
Last night officers were trying to uncover his exact location as a considerable Garda operation was being put into place to prevent an attack by rival gang members.
A security source said the immediate risk to Hutch’s life is ‘legitimate and a massive concern’ for gardaí.
Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch walked free from court yesterday after being acquitted of David Byrne’s gangland murder – and was warned by gardaí that his life is in danger. Hutch is pictured leaving the Special Criminal Court yesterday
David Byrne (pictured) died after being shot six times at a crowded boxing weigh-in event at Dublin’s Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016, in what was one of the first deadly attacks of the Hutch- Kinahan gangland feud
They added that there was a potential for a return to bloodshed on the streets of Dublin if an attack were to occur.
Patrols by armed officers have started around targets of the Kinahan cartel, who are still seeking revenge for Byrne’s murder. The 33-year-old died after being shot six times at a crowded boxing weigh-in event at Dublin’s Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016, in what was one of the first deadly attacks of the Hutch- Kinahan gangland feud.
It is expected Hutch will return to Spain, where he was arrested in 2021, in the coming days.
He has built up a considerable property portfolio there, as well as in Portugal and the Netherlands.
Reading the judgement of the court, Judge Tara Burns said there was ‘a reasonable possibility’ the murder was planned by Hutch’s brother Patsy and Gerard Hutch had stepped in as the head of the family in the aftermath, ‘particularly as his own life was at risk’.
Aside from the death threats, there are ‘serious concerns’ within Garda circles about the level of information surrounding their surveillance tactics which were shared during the trial.
Sources said that these tactics had been honed over a number of years and they represented ‘a major part’ of the fight against organised crime. As a result of information revealed during the trial, these strategies can ‘not be relied on as much’ now they have been shared, sources said.
On the evidence given by key State witness Jonathan Dowdall, the court concluded that it was ‘extremely concerned’ with his evidence and ‘his relationship with the truth’. Pictured: Court artist sketch of Jonathan Dowdall being questioned in court
On the evidence given by key State witness Jonathan Dowdall, the court concluded that it was ‘extremely concerned’ with his evidence and ‘his relationship with the truth’.
Judge Burns said the former Sinn Féin councillor was acting out of his own self-interest in giving the statements to gardaí.
She said: ‘It cannot be said that Jonathan Dowdall found God or decided to do what was right.
‘He was acting out of his own self-interests when the other die which he had cast in relation to these proceedings being stopped had not proved fruitful.’
A conversation between Hutch and Dowdall as they travelled to the North in March 2016, which was secretly taped by gardaí, and a Garda interview conducted with Dowdall in May 2016 were among the key parts of evidence shown during the lengthy murder trial.
Judge Burns said that the audio recordings of the conversation with Hutch did ‘not provide independent evidence’ to back up his assertions against Gerard Hutch.
She said that video recordings of gardaí interviewing Dowdall, conducted after the murder, ‘make for very uncomfortable viewing’.
The judge said the manner in which he told ‘convincing’ lies to gardaí was ‘extremely concerning for this court’.
She added: ‘A real question which this court must ask itself is, “Who is the court dealing with?”
‘A significant question mark hangs over Jonathan Dowdall’s character and reliability.’
Responding to the prosecution’s argument that Hutch (pictured yesterday) was one of the six men who carried out the Regency attack, Judge Burns said that key audio evidence does not include an admission by Hutch that he was present
Judge Burns added that because of the ‘pattern of lying and alternate character modes displayed by Dowdall’, the court must approach his ‘truthfulness about Gerard Hutch with scepticism and extreme care’.
She described the Regency Hotel attack as a ‘meticulously planned high-velocity assassination’ event carried out by a six-man hit team which killed one man and injured two others.
She said it ‘sparked mayhem on the streets of Dublin’ and resulted in a ‘series of callous murders’.
Responding to the prosecution’s argument that Hutch was one of the six men who carried out the Regency attack, Judge Burns said that key audio evidence does not include an admission by Hutch that he was present.
She said that the fast movements of the shooters at the hotel, as seen on the CCTV footage shown in court, did not seem to be those of a man aged in his 50s.
Hutch appeared to be listening intently using a hearing-aid headset as yesterday’s court judgement was read out.
