Masked men who fired shots in bar jailed for 30 months

Masked men who fired shots in bar jailed for 30 months

18 March 2015

TWO masked men who terrified customers of a Newcastle pub when they burst into the premises with a sawn off shot gun have each been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Robert McGibbon, of Downs Road, Newcastle, and Noel Donnelly, formerly of Edgewater Street, Lisburn, “terrified” customers of the Dug Out Bar after they donned balaclavas before entering the premises though a rear smoking area on November 22, 2013.

Downpatrick Crown Court heard on Thursday that the pair had been looking for a barman who had been involved in a dispute the previous day.

Although the barman was not on duty, prosecutors said the men knew he would hear of their visit and intended to scare him. They fired a shot as they fled the bar before dumping the weapon in the sea.

A prosecutor said the incident was “well thought out” with the men asking a female friend to wash their jackets afterwards.

During an earlier hearing in Newtownards, Crown prosecutor Laura Eivers said the incident had left staff and 10 customers in a “state of shock.”

Although the shot later transpired to be a blank round, she said it was “discharged in the vicinity of the bar, which caused shock and upset.”

CCTV footage of the incident was viewed by police, who carried out searches of local houses and clothes were seized, which linked both men to the incident.

Despite initial denials of involvement, both men subsequently pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. They also admitted possessing the sawn off shot gun without a fire arm certificate.

A defence barrister representing Donnelly emphasised there was never any intention of hurting the barman or anyone else present, but described the act as one of “bravado” to impress females who had been in Donnelly’s company that night.

He said the defendant had been living a “nomadic and unstructured lifestyle” and had himself been intimidated by paramilitaries. McGibbon’s barrister said his client, who struggled with cannabis and alcohol addiction, had shown remorse for the incident.

He said McGibbon had bought the gun at a festival.

Judge Piers Grant said that the weapon, which was brandished by Donnelly, was a working firearm capable of firing lethal ammunition although a blank round was used in the incident.

“Both men intended to terrify [the barman] who was the object of their attack,” he said. “The shot was fired in a relatively confined space causing alarm to those in the area.

“The offence was planned as the weapon had to be obtained and jackets were washed. Possession of a sawn off shot gun is an aggravating feature because such a weapon has no legitimate use.

“The firearm has not been recovered but is said to have been disposed of in the sea.”

Judge Grant said both defendants had alcohol problems which they had done little, if anything, to address. He said this was an additional feature of the risk they pose to society.

Although Donnelly and McGibbon do not have previous convictions for fire arm offences, Judge Grant added that they both had convictions for assault.

Sentencing them to two-and-a-half years each, half of which will be spent on licence, he concluded that both defendants were equally involved in the incident.