Criminal and nephew jailed for conspiring to murder teen who was shot during 'ambush'

Fiona Magennis

A recidivist criminal and his nephew have been sentenced to a combined total of 10 years and nine months in prison for conspiring to murder a teenager who was shot multiple times during an “ambush” in Dublin four years ago.

Sentencing Jamie Berry and Stephen Mulvey at the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, Justice Paul McDermott said both men were “clearly deeply involved” in the planning of the attempted murder, which failed only because of medical intervention.

He said each of the men had played a significant role in the “potentially lethal” attack, in which the victim had suffered gunshot wounds to his lower cheek, neck and thigh.

The judge noted there had been little indication of remorse from the defendants towards the victim, who was a child at the time.

Mr Justice McDermott said the purpose of this conspiracy “could not have been more serious” and involved the procurement and disposal of a firearm and a vehicle as well as planning for escape from the scene of the shooting after what was intended to be a murder.

“The manner in which the ambush took place was clearly planned in advance,” said the judge. He said the danger to the general public was highlighted by the fact that one of the bullets had lodged in a nearby residence.

He said the incident involved the repeated shooting of a firearm in a public place and demonstrated a “reckless indifference” to others which was shocking.

Mr Justice McDermott noted that Jamie Berry is Stephen Mulvey’s nephew.

He set a headline sentence of nine years in respect of each of the two defendants, which he reduced to six and a half years after considering mitigation in the case, including both men’s guilty pleas.

The judge suspended the final 12 months of Mulvey’s sentence and the final 15 months of Berry’s for a period of two years.

Mulvey (34) and Berry (30), both of Leo Fitzgerald House, Dublin, pleaded guilty last November to conspiring to murder a teenager at Eugene Street in Dublin, on dates between February 23rd and 24th, 2021.

The court was told during last week’s sentence hearing that a taxi driver was picking up the then 17-year-old victim when a man approached and opened fire, with four to five shots fired at the teenager's neck and body.

The teenager suffered life-threatening injuries which would have been fatal if not for medical intervention. The victim gave evidence at the original trial, saying he did not remember anything about the shooting.

Eyewitnesses saw two men running from the scene, one holding a gun, and heard one man say: “Go on, finish him.”

CCTV footage showed a car leaving the area before, minutes later, a flash of light was seen and the vehicle burst into flames. A firearm was recovered from the back seat and forensic evidence established it was used in the shooting.

Mr Justice McDermott today noted that 20 minutes after the shooting, a black BMW was stopped on the M50 near Finglas. He said no connection had been made by gardaí at that stage between the vehicle and the shooting, but the car was stopped because it was considered the occupants were acting suspiciously.

The driver of the car was found to be in possession of a set of car keys and a screwdriver, the judge noted. The key was identified as belonging to a Hyundai matching the make and model of the one that had been burned out.

Berry was found with gardening gloves containing a large amount of firearm residue. A forensic expert concluded the gloves were likely worn by the shooter.

Before sentencing the two defendants today, Mr Justice McDermott noted that Jamie Berry has six previous convictions, including for assault and possession of drugs. Stephen Mulvey has 91, including those for assault, possession of a firearm, robbery, possession of drugs and using mobile phones whilst a prisoner.

The judge noted the young victim “of this awful offence”, who was 17 at the time and therefore a child, had declined to make a victim impact statement.

He said factors to be considered in setting headline sentence included the extent of the conspiracy agreement in this case and whether it extended “beyond these two, which it clearly did”.

Mr Justice McDermott said both defendants were involved in taking steps to ensure “the conspiracy came to fruition”. He said both men “carry a high degree and equal level of culpability” for carrying out these acts which led to the shooting.

He said Stephen Mulvey had been engaged in crime from a young age and was involved in taking and dealing drugs as well as supplying narcotics in prison, before his offending “escalated to this very serious offence”.

Berry and Mulvey originally stood trial in March 2023 for attempted murder. It was the State's case that Berry was the shooter, while Mulvey was allegedly assisting, along with another man not before the courts.

However, at the close of the prosecution’s case, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon acceded to an application by the defence to direct an acquittal of the men due to a lack of evidence against them.

That decision was successfully appealed by the Director of Public Prosecutions in February 2024, with the Court of Appeal ruling upheld by the Supreme Court, who directed a retrial.

Before the retrial began, both men pleaded guilty to the current charge.