A Crossmaglen man appeared before Dundalk District Court last night (Sunday) at 8.00pm, charged in connection with the murder of Garda Adrian Donohoe who was shot dead during a botched robbery at Lordship Credit Union in January 2013.
Aaron Brady (27), of New Road, was formally charged at the specially convened court sitting, marking the first arraignment in the five year investigation into the murder of the 41-year-old father-of-two.
Brady had been arrested exactly a week earlier (Sunday 25th February) on his release from Wheatfield Prison in Dublin, having completed a prison sentence for motoring offences. This detention followed his deportation from the United States in May last year.
During Sunday’s brief court appearance, at which US law enforcement officials were reportedly present, the accused denied involvement in the murder. He has been remanded in custody until Friday 9th March.
A second man in his fifties who was arrested on Monday 26th February has been released without charge. However, Gardai do not believe he was directly involved in the murder but that he is close to two younger men who they believe were among the gang that carried out the killing. Having been interviewed at length since his arrest, a file is now being sent to the DPP in relation to the now-released man.
Detective Garda Donohoe was killed when he was shot in the car park of the Lordship Credit Union on January 25th 2013 as he was providing an armed escort for a staff member depositing a bag of money at a bank night safe in Dundalk.
The five year murder inquiry has seen Gardaí travel to the US to interview suspected members of the gang who are believed to have fled there after the murder.
Two suspects are said to be living in Massachusetts on American passports while a fourth is thought to reside between Newry and Dundalk.