Cocaine Wars (6 page)

Detective Sergeants Peter O'Boyle and Joe O'Hara took Rattigan into the interview room. After being cautioned about his rights and speaking privately with his solicitor, the interview commenced. Rattigan told the detectives that he did nothing wrong, and that he used to eat in Abrakebabra but was not there on the night of the murder. He claimed that he was with a married woman at the time, but would not name her because he did not want her husband to find out. He refused to take part in an identity parade. He then quoted the Bob Dylan song ‘Hurricane' about the black boxer Ruben Carter, who was wrongly convicted of murder in 1967 in New Jersey. The two hours of interview did not yield much, and Joe O'Hara and Peter O'Boyle took a break. They were replaced by Detective Inspector Dominic Hayes and Detective Garda Marcus De Long from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, a specialist unit that investigates serious crime and murders. Rattigan told the two officers that he couldn't remember where he was when the murder happened, and then said that he was with a married woman but would not name her.

He then changed his story and said he was at his brother's eighteenth birthday party for the whole night and never left it. He swore that he hadn't been near Abrakebabra for months. He was supremely confident throughout the period of questioning, until he was told that Gardaí had recovered his palm print from the window of the restaurant, and it was in Declan Gavin's blood. The colour drained from Rattigan's face at this point, and he quietly said that if this was the case then ‘it's all over'. The interview concluded shortly afterwards. Then Then Rattigan was visited by Dr James Maloney, in the presence of DS Joe O'Hara. He was asked for his consent to provide a blood sample but he refused. He agreed to be examined by the doctor in private, and Joe O'Hara took this time to speak with Detective Superintendent Denis Donegan, who authorised that a sample be taken from the prisoner under Section 2 (4) (a) of the Criminal Justice (Forensic Act) 1990. Rattigan again refused to comply. He then consulted privately with his solicitor by telephone, and was again asked for a sample, and again he refused.

He was returned to his cell without having given blood, and was given food and tea. He was then visited by an aunt for ten minutes. Around 9.00 p.m. Denis Donegan extended the period of Rattigan's detention, and he was taken back into the interview room. DS Joe O'Hara and DG Eamonn Maloney interviewed him for a period of nearly three hours. During this interview, Rattigan repeatedly said that he ‘did not do anything wrong', and was definitely not in Abrakebabra on the night of the murder. He again refused to take part in an ID parade and said that Gardaí had planted his fingerprint. Again, he used the Ruben Carter example. When he was told that there were several witnesses who placed him at the murder scene, he said that when it came to the crunch they ‘will never say it'. He smiled at the Gardaí and told them to ‘Prove it, that's your job.' At around midnight Dominic Hayes and Marcus De Long took over. Rattigan again declined to give a blood sample, but he did hand over a strand of hair voluntarily. He said he would wait to see what was in the book of evidence. This interview concluded at around 1.15 a.m., and about an hour later Joe O'Hara and Eamonn Maloney tried again. Rattigan was at his most talkative during this interview. He told the detectives that ‘rats' must have given them their information. He told them that he ‘guaranteed' that he would not be charged with the murder and said that Gardaí would be going around in bulletproof vests because: ‘There will be another one. If I get done tomorrow one of them will get it, that's the way it is.' After being given a cup of tea, he was asked about his opinion of Declan Gavin. He said that his former friend was a ‘rat who got caught' and had ‘loads of tax and insurance' offences but he didn't do any time. The interview finished with Rattigan saying that if any witness said they saw him at the scene they ‘will be naming the wrong person'. The interview was completed around 3.00 a.m. Later Rattigan was released on the murder charge, but he was charged in relation to an existing bench warrant for his arrest. He was put into custody in the Bridewell Garda Station, and was given bail the following afternoon after a court appearance.

At the same time that Gardaí were searching Brian Rattigan's family home on Cooley Road, a different search team called to Joey Redmond's house, just a few minutes away from Rattigan's. Nobody was present when the Gardaí called, so a team, led by Peter O'Boyle, forced their way in, but nothing of evidential value was found. On 7 September, Joey Redmond called to Sundrive Road Garda Station and told the Garda on front desk duty that he wished to speak to a member of the Declan Gavin murder investigation team.

Accompanied by Detective Garda Eamon O'Loughlin, Joe O'Hara invited Joey Redmond into an interview room. He explained to him that he was not under arrest and was free to leave at any time. The two detectives obviously thought that Joey Redmond was there to talk about the murder a couple of weeks earlier, but when he sat down, Redmond wanted to know why Gardaí ‘went up to me house and smashed the window for nothing'. He then said that he had nothing else to say to them and refused to sign the memorandum of interview. With that, he sauntered out of the station. The following afternoon, Joe O'Hara spotted Joey Redmond on the Crumlin Road, just yards from the Garda station, and arrested him on suspicion of murder. He was taken to the station and searched, and was found to have two documents in his possession. The first was a note from a doctor stating that he had examined Joey Rattigan on 7 September and found no evidence of external injury to his body. The second document was a note from a solicitor, signed by Redmond and dated 7 September, stating that he was innocent of any involvement in Declan Gavin's death and ‘did nothing wrong'. When Joey Rattigan was first interviewed, he remained silent for long periods and said that he just came to the station to see why Gardaí had searched his mother's house. During his second interview, he maintained that he had nothing to do with Declan Gavin's death and said he was not at Abrakebabra on the night of the murder, and that whoever told this to Gardaí was lying. He refused to give a blood sample, but said he would think about taking part in an identification parade. He then said that witnesses would not pick him out ‘because I wasn't there the night he was killed'. After being interviewed on the second occasion, Joey Redmond refused to see a doctor to be medically examined, and consulted with his solicitor. His period of detention was extended and he was photographed and fingerprinted. He was interviewed for the third time by Detective Gardaí Eamon O'Loughlin and Ronan Lafferty. He told the officers that he was with a few mates on the night of the murder but refused to name them. When he was told that people in Abrakebabra had named him as being there, he said they were drunk and mistaken. He confirmed that an ex-girlfriend of Shane Maloney owned a 93 D silver Nissan Micra, but other than that not much progress was made, so the interview concluded around midnight. Joey Redmond then spoke to his sister on the telephone. Before being placed in a cell for the night, he was asked to remove his runners, which is common practice to make sure that prisoners do not attempt suicide. He pleaded with the two detectives that his runners were ‘only new' and he would be ‘freezing' without them. So Gardaí let him keep them on overnight. The following morning, before being released, Redmond was interviewed one more time. A number of witness statements placing him outside Abrakebabra were read to him, but he said the people ‘must have been drunk'. He continued, saying that he did nothing wrong and goaded Gardaí by saying, ‘Why don't you just charge me and I'll take my chances in court? Prove it.' At around 10.30 a.m. Joey Redmond was released without charge, was re-arrested and then charged with an unrelated previous offence. He was taken straight to Dublin District Court, where he was given bail soon after.

On 29 September 2001, Shane Maloney called to Sundrive Road Garda Station with his father and a solicitor. Detective Sergeants Joe O'Hara and Peter O'Boyle invited the three men into the station, and the group went into an interview room. Shane Maloney told the detectives that he had nothing to discuss with them and knew nothing about Declan Gavin's murder. His solicitor then intervened and said his client was not going into an interview involving questions and answers. The interview was then suspended and the three men left the station. While Shane Maloney was walking away from the Garda station, Joe O'Hara arrested him on suspicion of Declan Gavin's murder. During his interview, Maloney repeatedly said that he had nothing to say, or ‘I can't remember', to most questions. When witness statements placing him outside Abrakebabra were read to him, he said they ‘must be mistaken' and denied having driven a 92 or 93 D registered silver-coloured Nissan Micra. He was shown a picture of the burnt-out getaway car used in the murder, and claimed he did not know whether it was his or not. ‘Youse have me car now,' he said. During this first interview, he spoke privately with his solicitor on the telephone. During his second round of questions, he became violent and aggressive in front of Detective Garda Barry Butler and Garda Paul Lynch, shouting: ‘I told you everything I know. What's your problem? I have nothing to say to you, Lynch.' Paul Lynch knew Maloney well from his years patrolling the Crumlin and Drimnagh area. Maloney then calmed down and refused to answer most questions, and twice said: ‘I didn't do anything wrong.' When he was interviewed for the third time, he repeated the mantra ‘I have nothing to say.' Just prior to being released, he agreed to provide a blood sample. After being freed, Maloney was immediately re-arrested for an unrelated bench warrant. He was taken to Dublin District Court the following day, where he was given bail.

On 3 October 2001, John Roche was arrested at his home in Kilworth Road by Joe O'Hara and taken to Sundrive Road Garda Station. Prior to being interviewed, Roche spoke with his solicitor by telephone, and was visited by his brother Noel, a well-known twenty-three-year-old criminal who was centrally involved in the feud. When he was asked about Joey Rattigan's eighteenth birthday party, Roche said that he knew ‘nothing about any party'. He said he could not remember where he was on 25 August, when the murder took place, and could not remember going to Abrakebabra on that date. When several witness statements were read to him, which pointed to him being at the restaurant, John Roche said they ‘must be lying or something'. He said he couldn't remember ever being in Shane Maloney's Micra. He denied ever calling Declan Gavin ‘a rat' outside Abrakebabra. During an interview later in the day, Roche told Gardaí that he had memory loss and was innocent of all the allegations being made against him. He said he did not know Shane Maloney and had never even heard of Cooley Road. He also denied knowing Karl Kavanagh or his sister Catherine. He also claimed not to have known Declan Gavin, ‘but I think he was stabbed at Abrakebabra, wasn't he?' Gardaí asked him how long he had suffered from memory loss. Predictably, ‘I can't remember', was his reply, and he could not detail any other occasion when he forgot things. Roche was a pro when it came to brushing off Garda questioning. He told officers that he couldn't remember anything at all, but if he did he would be sure to tell his solicitor. He was released without charge that evening.

By the beginning of October, Gardaí had gone through the hundreds of witness statements they had taken and were not satisfied with the co-operation of a number of witnesses, especially some of those present at Abrakebabra. Gardaí believed that at least six eyewitnesses had vital information about the murder after seeing events first-hand, so it was necessary to make arrests. A total of six witnesses were arrested during the Garda investigation. All were detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act 1998, for offences contrary to Section 9 of the Act: ‘Having failed, without reasonable excuse to disclose to Gardaí information in their possession which would have been of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of a person for a serious offence (involving loss of human life).' Gardaí knew that some of these witnesses were probably intimidated by members of the Rattigan gang to make sure they stayed quiet, and there was little doubt that they were all afraid, but detectives felt there was no other option.

John Malone had spoken to Brian Rattigan just seconds before the murder, so he was one of the most important potential witnesses. On 10 October 2001, Detective Sergeant Joe O'Hara arrested Malone at Cathal Brugha Barracks. During his five interviews, Malone claimed that he had been recently abducted by two armed men wearing balaclavas while out jogging near his home. He said that he was threatened and knew that the people were involved in Declan Gavin's murder, but he would not name them or even make a complaint about the ‘abduction'. Malone confirmed that he knew Shane Maloney, John Roche and Joey Redmond, but swore he didn't see them outside Abrakebabra on the night of the murder. After a visit from his parents, Malone had a change of attitude. He agreed that the Micra was owned by Shane Maloney, and that Joey Redmond was also in the back seat. He then stated that Brian Rattigan was in the front passenger seat and that he wore a balaclava and had a knife, and that he was the man who had stabbed Declan Gavin. However, he refused to sign the memorandum of the interview. Malone told Gardaí that he feared the people who murdered Declan Gavin would come after him, because they knew who he was. He admitted that the supposed abduction never actually happened, and said that he made up the story because: ‘I thought you'd let me out if I said I was threatened.' He confirmed that he had not been threatened, but he would not go on the record and name Rattigan as the killer, because he was ‘not a rat'. John Malone's parents were present during the interview where he named Brian Rattigan and they agreed to give statements to Gardaí. John Malone's mother confirmed that her son told Gardaí that Brian Rattigan had a knife and had stabbed Declan Gavin. John Malone's father gave a statement recalling his son naming Rattigan as having stabbed Gavin, Shane Maloney as having driven the Nissan Micra and Joey Redmond as being in the back of the car. When this was put to John Malone, he said he would not sign his interview notes. He said that he would not go to court and that if he did, he would say that he lied during his Garda interview and that his parents were also lying about what they had heard him say. He was released without charge.