Three to stand trial in constable murder case
ELECTRONIC surveillance was used to closely track the movements of the car owned by a man accused of murdering PSNI Constable Stephen Carroll, a court was told yesterday.
Constable Carroll was shot dead by the Continuity IRA as he answered a distress call in Craigavon on March 9, 2008. He was murdered two days after the so-called Real IRA shot dead two soldiers outside Massereene Barracks in Antrim.
In Craigavon Magistrates Court yesterday, Judge Alan White returned the three accused for trial at Belfast Crown Court. There was heavy security at the court and on surrounding roads yesterday, and the identities of three witnesses have been kept secret by order of the court.
John Paul Wooton, 19, from Collingdale in Lurgan, is charged with the murder of Constable Carroll, possession of an assault rifle, collecting information likely to be of use to terrorists and membership of the CIRA.
Brendan McConville, 39, from Glenholme Avenue, Lurgan, faces two charges; the murder of Constable Carroll and possession of an assault rifle.
Sharon Wooton, 40, from the same address as John Paul Wooton, is charged with perverting the course of justice by giving false information to police and removing a computer or computers from her home when she believed it might be searched.
The defence argued that “a large chunk” of evidence against Mr Wooton was “moderate” and forensic, and questioned whether alleged gunshot particles on his clothing could be linked to the murder weapon to a satisfactory standard.
A forensic expert conceded yesterday that it was possible that the particles had not even come from a gun, but she believed they probably had.
The defence also said that Witness K had conceded that the “surveillance and tracking devices” used against Mr Wooton are “far from infallible”. The defence said the movements of the vehicle on the night in question are open to question and that taken together, this “must cast a pall over the strength of the case against Mr Wooton”.
In the case against Mrs Wooton, the key ingredient of intent had not been established, the defence added.
But Judge Alan White said repeatedly that it was not his job to conclude if any of the accused were guilty, only to decide if there was enough evidence to justify a trial.
He did not accept the case against Mr McConville was mainly forensic evidence, but said that it was also a circumstantial case. “He was definitely seen close to the firing point on the night of the murder and this definitely raises a number of issues that will require examination.”
Regarding the case against Mr Wooton he said: “It is not my place to decide if the device (used to track him] was accurate. The court will decide. It is not a question of whether it was accurate regarding one location, but over a whole series of locations over time.” It would be more important if “a consistent pattern of movement emerged” rather than the accuracy of the device in relation to one place, the judge added.
There was also circumstantial evidence against Mr Wooton, from one witness, that he had been gathering information relevant to the charges, Judge White said, and the Crown Court would decide if intent can be inferred in the case of Mrs Wooton.
All three were returned for trial at Belfast Crown Court. The two men were remanded in custody and Mrs Wooton was to be released on her own bail of £500.
There was some dispute as to how four further explosive charges against Brendan McConville from 2006/2007 would be carried over into the Crown Court. Judge White also returned Mr McConville on these charges but said it would be for that court to decide whether the cases would be linked. The prosecution said it intended to present a single case.
