STATE witness Jonathan Dowdall will have his appeal against the severity of his four-year prison sentence for facilitating the murder of Kinahan cartel thug David Byrne heard next month.
The Court of Criminal Appeal will hear his case on June 20, we can reveal.
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It’s unlikely that the former Sinn Fein councillor will be in attendance for the hearing.
The 44-year-old pleaded guilty to the section 72 offence last October after a murder charge was dropped.
The Special Criminal Court heard that the night before Byrne’s murder, Dowdall drove his father Patrick to the Regency to a book a room. The room was subsequently used by Kevin ‘Flat Cap’ Murray, one of the Regency gunmen.
Jonathan Dowdall was jailed for four years but it later emerged that he was appealing the severity of the sentence.
His case was adjourned until after Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch’s verdict in the case. The 60-year-old was found not guilty of murder by the Special Criminal Court three weeks ago.
Dowdall testified against Hutch but in their ruling the three judges said he was “acting in his own self-interest” and rejected his claims that the Monk admitted to him that he murdered Byrne.
He will be entered in the Witness Protection Programme when his sentence ends. His father was jailed for two years after pleading guilty and was released in the last few weeks after time previously served was taken into the account.
Dowdall’s hearing next month is expected to take a few hours and it’s believed the judges might then reserve judgement.
He’s under no obligation to attend and he’s not expected to do so.
If he wins the judges will decide to shorten his sentence but if not they might leave it untouched or they might even increase it.
A source said: “It’s a risky to appeal this sentence because it could backfire and the court might also increase his sentence.
“Considering he was originally charged with murder and the maximum sentence for facilitating his 15 years, you’d think he happily take the four years and keep his head down.”
WITNESS PROTECTION
Dowdall’s family have been receiving round-the-clock garda protection since his decision to turn State’s evidence.
The father-of-two had been serving their sentence together on an isolated landing in Limerick Prison but after his father’s release it was reported that Dowdall had been moved to Arbour Hill in Dublin.
Once his sentence is completed they’ll all be entered into the Witness Security Programme and it’s expected they’ll be given new identities and will be relocated abroad.
When he’s released in to the programme, Dowdall will be given a stipend which is the equivalent of his legitimate income prior to being entered into the WSP.
Dowdall testified against Hutch over the course of eight days before Christmas. He claimed that he went to meet Patsy Hutch with the key cards from the Regency Hotel room but it was Gerry Hutch who turned up and took the key cards from him on Richmond Road.
HUTCH LEGAL COSTS
He also said that the Monk summoned him to a meeting in a park in Whitehall days after Byrne’s murder and admitted to him that he murdered Byrne.
But the court rejected all of his evidence and acquitted Hutch.
Meanwhile Gerry ‘The Monk’s Hutch application to have his legal costs paid by the State has been pushed back until next month.
The hearing was due to take place on Friday but the court was told on Wednesday that it would not be in a position to proceed this week.
Prosecutor Fiona Murphy SC told the non-jury court this morning that “difficulties have arisen” and asked the court to put the matter in for mention on the last week of the Easter court term, which ends on May 25.
Ms Justice Tara Burns, presiding, said she would not do that and instead set a new date for the costs hearing.
The judge listed the costs application for the first day of next term on June 7.
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