A MAN who admitted 'storing' the gun used to murder Lyra McKee will be sentenced for the firearms offence later this month.
Niall Sheerin (29) appeared at Belfast Crown Court where his barrister made the case the plea to possessing the handgun was on the grounds that he 'warehoused' it for a short period - but was unaware of its history.
Ms McKee (29) died after being struck by a bullet fired at police during rioting in the Creggan area of the city in April 2018. The New IRA subsequently claimed responsibility.
Prior to the murder, the handgun had been used in four dissident republican attacks in Derry and was located during a planned search over a year after her death.
A Crown barrister revealed that on June 5, 2020 police and the army carried out a search at fields in the Whitehouse Road area of Derry, A plastic bin liner was found in a hole in the ground behind a telegraph pole, and the handgun and an empty magazine were located within a second bag in the bin liner, along with loose rounds of ammunition. The items were removed, underwent forensic testing and Sheerin's DNA was located on two areas of the weapon.
The Crown barrister said: "The first profile was at least one billion times more likely to have originated from the defendant than an unrelated male chosen at random." He also revealed that when found, the gun was in "good condition" and there was "firing residue in the barrel which indicated "it hasn't been cleaned since it was last fired".
As a result of the DNA evidence Sheerin, from Tyrconnell Street, was arrested on July 15. He gave no reply when cautioned and was interviewed seven times, during which he remained silent. During the sixth interview, the father-of-three provided a written statement where he denied involvement in dissident republican activity linked to the gun. Sheerin also denied both rioting in the Fanad Drive area of Derry the night Ms McKee lost her life and having any involvement in her murder.
In the statement, the bookmaker also denied touching or handling the gun and claimed he was "at a loss" as to how his DNA was found on it. He later admitted possessing .22 calibre Hammerli self loading pistol, magazine and a quantity of .22 calibre cartridges with intent to enable another person to endanger life or cause serious damage to property on dates between September 22, 2018 and June 6, 2020.
The Crown barrister told Mr Justice Fowler that Sheerin had 15 previous offences for charges including rioting and assaulting police. He added that whilst it could not be established Sheerin was aware of the specific history of this weapon, it was the Crown's case that he was aware of dissident republican activity in Derry at the relevant time.
Regarding this issue, defence barrister Kieran Mallon QC addressed the "misconception" of Sheerin's involvement with the gun - and again stressed his client was not in Creggan the night Ms McKee was murdered. Mr Mallon also pointed his client had "no knowledge of the specific history of the firearm" - but by his plea, Sheerin accepted "he came in to contact with it some time afterwards".
The barrister added his client was a hard-working family man and pointed out Sheerin's criminal record was both historic and "at Magistrates Court level".
After listening to both the Crown and defence, Mr Justice Fowler said he wanted to consider all submissions before passing sentence on September 14.