The Special Criminal Court has refused bail for a man accused of conspiring to steal cars with garda killer Aaron Brady due to concerns he might evade justice by leaving the country.
Ms Justice Karen O’Connor said there was a concern James Flynn (43) could be a “flight risk” if he were allowed to take up bail.
She said Mr Flynn was a citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States and had started businesses in both locations.
The judge said there was evidence he had the financial means to evade justice, given he had offered a cash lodgement and independent sureties totalling more than £1 million when he was arrested in the UK to be extradited to Ireland in 2021.
The court did not accept submissions from Bernard Condon SC, for Mr Flynn, that his client had substantial ties that bound him to the Republic of Ireland.
Ms Justice O’Connor, presiding at the three-judge non-jury court, said her concerns were not allayed by conditions proposed by Mr Condon, including that Mr Flynn undertake to live with his mother-in-law in Monaghan rather than return to Northern Ireland.
The court refused to grant bail.
Ms Justice O’Connor listed the matter for trial on February 9th next year.
Mr Flynn, with an address in Ravensglen, Newry, Co Down, was originally charged with conspiracy to steal cars at locations in the northeast. He was further charged with participation in the robbery of the Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan, Co Louth, on January 25th, 2013, in which Brady shot and killed Det Gda Adrian Donohoe.
The Special Criminal Court acquitted Mr Flynn of the robbery charge, but amended the conspiracy indictment to find him guilty of conspiring to steal a Volkswagen Passat from a property in Clogherhead, Co Louth, in January 2013. The same Passat was used as the getaway car in the Lordship robbery.
Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal quashed Mr Flynn’s conviction and ordered a retrial. That court found the Special Criminal Court’s decision to amend the indictment without consulting the prosecution or defence legal teams breached Mr Flynn’s right to constitutional natural justice.
Mr Flynn, who is married with two children, has spent three years and nine months in custody since his arrest in the UK and subsequent extradition to Ireland.
