Several members of the jury agreed to try the firing mechanism on the alleged murder weapon after a prosecutor said it was a “useful exercise” for them to get a sense of the amount of pressure required.
Mr Phelan (56) shot Keith Conlon with the revolver in a confrontation but maintains that he fired in self-defence and hit the father-of four accidentally. Also today, a defence lawyer told the Central Criminal Court Mr Phelan would say the gun could be safely used to shoot foxes and rats with two different types of ammunition.
Mr Phelan, a law professor, is pleading not guilty to murdering Mr Conlon at Hazelgrove Farm, Kiltalown Lane, Tallaght.
Mr Conlon (36) was shot on February 22, 2022, and died from his injuries in hospital two days later.
Keith Conlon was shot in the back of the head
The trial has heard Mr Conlon and friends were fox and badger hunting on the farm when Mr Phelan killed a dog that was with them and they got into a “heated exchange”.
Mr Phelan fired two shots in the air, but a third hit Mr Conlon in the back of the head.
Det Gda Seamus O’Donnell told the jury Mr Phelan’s Smith & Wesson revolver had eight rounds in the cylinder when gardaí recovered it. These were five live hollow-point “stinger” bullets and three spent cartridges.
One of the three that had been fired was also a stinger and was the “fatal bullet” that hit Mr Conlon.
The jury earlier heard Mr Phelan had told gardaí at the scene that the three rounds he fired were “possibly crow shot”, used to shoot crows and rats.
Det Garda O’Donnell said it was not possible to say which type had been in the other two shots fired by Mr Phelan.
However, he believed it would have been “extremely dangerous” to mix different types of ammunition in the revolver.
“I’m of the opinion the pest control ammunition should be considered lethal at short ranges and has capability of causing harm at distances of up to 10m,” Gda O’Donnell said. Short ranges were between eight and 13 feet, he said.
The garda said the revolver was considered “very safe” and featured “heavy trigger pull” with maintained pressure of just under 5g required to fire it. Asked if it could be discharged accidentally, he said he was not aware of “any cases” where that happened.
Det Gda O’Donnell said the revolver was in the “home defence” rather than “targets/ sporting” category. Home defence firearms were designed to protect “possibly from animals or human intruders”.
Target guns, by comparison, were considered more precise and required much less trigger pressure.
In tests at a garda firing range, some 13 of 14 shots from the revolver struck “marginally” below the target. A post-mortem report on Mr Conlon had showed the fatal wound was 6cm below the top of his head.
Following the target tests, Det Gda O’Donnell said if he were to fire the gun at a “mannequin” from five metres away and strike it 6cm from the top, he would have to aim at a point 1.8cm from the top.
“I’m going to invite you now to hold the weapon,” prosecutor John Byrne SC told the jury, saying “nobody has to do this”.
Eight of the 12 jurors opted to take part, while Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford said: “I think I’ll pass on that.” Mr Byrne said the gun had been made safe and could do nobody any harm.
He told each juror to “hold the firearm in a downward trajectory and pull the trigger and get a sense of the five kilos of pressure required”.
In cross-examination, Seán Guerin SC, defending put it to the garda that what he had called hollow point bullets were made to shoot “varmint”, as stated on the box. Det Gda O’Donnell agreed this could refer to bigger pests such as foxes.
Mr Guerin said it was clear both types of ammunition were in fact for shooting pests. Det Gda O’Donnell agreed that the hollow point bullets would be less likely to pass straight through an animal or ricochet.
The garda was asked to comment on three expert reports prepared for the defence.
One said the light weight and heavy trigger pull of the revolver “make the gun very safe but create serious problems for control and accuracy when shooting at any distance”.
Det Gda O’Donnell disagreed, saying his test shots struck “marginally” below the target and he did not consider that a serious problem.
The garda “questioned” a report that stated finger placement on the trigger could cause it to shoot low.
He agreed with other views in the reports such as the short handle grip, the barrel length and the type of sight affecting control of the gun and accuracy.
The Smith & Wesson manual stated: “never mix ammunition” and Mr Guerin put it to the garda this only referred to not mixing different calibres. Det Gda O’Donnell said he believed it also meant not mixing different types of ammunition.
Mr Guerin said the manual showed a six-shot revolver with four bullet cartridges and two shot shells loaded.
“When you expressed a view about how inappropriate it is to put shot shells and bullets in the revolver, you were not aware Smith & Wesson published in their manual an image showing people you can do that?” Mr Guerin asked.
“No, I wasn’t,” the garda replied.
Mr Guerin put it to him that Mr Phelan said shot shells were safe for use in a yard, for rats, where bullets would not be safe, but the bullet could be used to shoot a fox in a field where a shot shell would be of no use.
“They are both capable of being discharged from that weapon,” Mr Guerin said, and if marked and properly loaded you could choose between them.
The garda said there were at least six bulleted rounds in Mr Phelan’s revolver on the day. He was of the view that at a distance of two metres “even if it had been shell shot” it could have been lethal.
The trial continues tomorrow.
