Shooting of David Douglas
Coordinates: 53°20′37″N 6°16′52″W / 53.34359°N 6.28103°W
David "Dathaí" Douglas, an Irish zookeeper turned criminal, was shot dead on 1 July 2016.[1] He had convictions dating from the 1980s as well as more recent ones and had survived a shooting the previous November.[1]
Criminal history
In 1983 he received a twelve-year sentence at the Special Criminal Court for shooting with intent to kill a Garda during an armed robbery at an Allied Irish Banks sub branch at Wang Laboratories in Castletroy, Limerick in 1982.[1][2][3] He had been a member of the Provisional IRA.[2] It has been alleged that he was kicked out of the IRA because of his involvement with illegal drugs.[2]
Shortly after sentencing for his part in the 1982 raid on AIB in Wang laboratories, he was sentenced for three other offences committed in 1982:[3]
- The theft of IR£17,000 from ESB offices on Kylemore Road, Ballyfermot in February 1982.[3]
- The theft of IR£2,000 in cash and IR£7,000 in jewelery from a woman who owned an amusement arcade in Rathmines.[3]
- The theft of IR£98,000 from a post office in Tallaght.[3]
He told Gardaí that these raids had been carried out on behalf of the Provisional IRA, which the Gardaí accepted.[3]
He was released from prison in the mid-1990s, resumed his criminal activities and became increasingly involved in illegal drug trafficking.[3]
In 2008 he was stopped in a taxi with three other men near Pearse Street - Gardaí recovered a black holdall containing 8 kg of cocaine.[1][3][4] Telephone records from the previous three months linked the men.[4] These drugs were trafficked by the Kinahan cartel.[1][3]
In December 2011 he was sentenced to ten years, with five suspended.[1][4][5] He was also involved in dog fighting.[6]
He had links to the Hutch gang, as well as George Mitchell and a gang in Finglas.[1]
2015 shooting
A senior member of the Kinehan gang survived an assassination attempt in November 2015 at a pub in West Dublin.[3] The Kinehan gang blamed Douglas and an associate of his, Darren Kearns, who had convictions for drug dealing.[3][7] Kearns was shot dead at the end of December 2015, with Gardaí believing that his death was the work of the Kinehan gang and that it was feud related.[3] Gardaí concluded that David Douglas was in a pub in the north inner city at the time of the attempted assassination and was not directly involved.[8]
Douglas was shot in November 2015 while walking his dog near his home.[1][4][5] His wife insisted after this shooting that he was a law-abiding citizen.[1]
2016 shooting
He and his wife ran the Shoestown shop on Bridgefoot Street, where he was shot at about 4:10 pm on 1 July 2016.[1][5][9] He was treated by paramedics at the scene and then taken to St. James's Hospital where he died.[9] Gardaí are investigating if this shooting is linked to the Irish gangland feud.[3][5][9]
A handgun was recovered at the scene of the shooting.[5] A stolen Mercedes car that detectives believed was used in the killing was found burnt-out.[5]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 MacMahon, Cathal (1 Jul 2016). "Former Dublin zookeeper turned drug dealer is victim of latest shooting". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 Jul 2016.
- 1 2 3 Foy, Ken (2 Jul 2016). "Former zookeeper survived earlier attempt on life by Cabra mob". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 Jul 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Daithí Douglas: victim had long history of criminal activity". The Irish Times. 2 Jul 2016. Retrieved 4 Jul 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Feehan, Conor; Foy, Ken; O'Keefe, Alan (9 Nov 2015). "Criminal shot three times just 100 yards from his front door". Irish Independent. Retrieved 3 Jul 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lally, Conor; Gleeson, Colin (1 Jul 2016). "Handgun recovered by gardaí after gangland killing in Dublin". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 Jul 2016.
- ↑ Mooney, John (12 Jun 2011). "Jailed zoo keeper was dog fighter". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 4 Jul 2016.
- ↑ Doyle, Michael (9 November 2015). "Drug dealer and pit bull yob shot in back 3 times: EX-ZOOKEEPER GUNNED DOWN NEAR HOME COKE CON FIGHTS FOR LIFE". The Sun. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ↑ "Mother of Kinahan hitman is 'sick to her stomach' over his gangland crimes". Irish Independent. 4 Jul 2016. Retrieved 5 Jul 2016.
- 1 2 3 Lally, Conor (2 Jul 2016). "Gardaí believe gangland killing linked to the Kinahan-Hutch feud". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 Jul 2016.