PROSECUTION WITNESS KALLUM Coleman who “legged it” to Spain and failed to give evidence in the trial of barrister Diarmuid Phelan, who was acquitted of murdering a trespasser on his farm, has been jailed for four months.

Mr Coleman (24) appeared before a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Cork today to face a contempt of court hearing.

On 3 January last Mr Phelan (56) walked free from the Central Criminal Court after a jury found him not guilty of the murder of Keith Conlon (36) at Hazelgrove Farm, Kiltalown Lane, Tallaght in February 2022.

Mr Conlon had suffered a fatal gunshot injury to his head when he trespassed on Mr Phelan’s land on 22 February, 2022.

At a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Cork today Roisin Lacey, SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said that Kallum Coleman was an “eyewitness” in the case. She said that his importance to the case couldn’t be overstated.

“His absence impacted many facets of what the jury had to consider. His absence was crucial.”

Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford said that arising out of the seriousness of the case it was “incumbent” on Mr Coleman to appear in court to give evidence in relation to the death of his friend Keith Conlon.

Ms Justice Lankford  said that Mr Coleman had been in the company of Mr Conlon on Mr Phelan’s land at Hazelgrove Farm in Tallaght, on 22 February, 2022. 

“His (Mr Coleman’s) evidence would have been described as crucial. He had been present at the scene (of the shooting). The contempt is of a serious nature. It was a murder trial.”

Ms Justice Lankford said Mr Coleman failed to answer his witness order and went to Spain. He was due to give evidence in court last October. 

Ms Justice Lankford stated that when Mr Coleman arrived back in Ireland he didn’t make himself available to gardaí in relation to his outstanding bench warrant for alleged contempt of court.

She noted that Mr Coleman had been arrested in Dublin earlier this month and had subsequently escaped from custody before he was arrested by arrangement in the early hours of 7 January last.

Ms Justice Lankford said that she was not saying that the prosecution failed because Mr Coleman wasn’t present. However, she stated that his evidence was vital given that he was “side by side” with Mr Conlon. 

Ms Justice Lankford took the guilty plea into consideration when sentencing. She noted that defence barrister Tim O’Leary had cited as a mitigating factor in the case that his client was extremely stressed and suffering from PTSD as a result of having witnessed the death of his friend.

However, she said that many people suffer from stress or PTSD as a result of an event but still manage to attend in court to give evidence.

The presiding judge made reference to evidence she heard this afternoon from Dt Sgt Michael McGrath who said that he and another garda flew to Marbella in Spain on 5 November, 2024 in a bid to speak to Mr Coleman. She said that any evidence of what occurred in Spain was not relevant to the hearing.

Dt Sgt Michael McGrath had told her that when they found Mr Coleman at a hotel in Marbella on November 6tth they told him that a bench warrant had been issued for him. He said that Mr Coleman had said that he wanted to come back to deal with the arrest warrant.

However, when they were on the way to the airport and stopped to get refreshments, Mr Coleman exited the car and ran.

Dt Sgt McGrath said that Mr Coleman had told him that he would kill himself rather than give evidence in the case. He said that he told Mr Coleman that it was in his “best interest” that he return to Ireland with gardai but the young man was aware that it was a choice and that gardai were not in a position to arrest him outside of the jurisdiction.

Dgt Sgt McGrath said that Mr Coleman had told him that “under no circumstances” would he give evidence in the case.

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“He said he would rather kill himself than give evidence.”

The court heard that Mr Coleman was eventually detained by Gardai when a car he was travelling in was stopped by gardaí on the Naas road in Dublin on January 2nd last. Mr Coleman was in the back seat of the car.

Gardai indicated that Mr Coleman was brought to Tallaght Garda Station. However, he ran out a side door of the station on to a busy motorway while being followed by gardaí.

He successfully escaped but surrendered to gardaí by arrangement five days later.

Meanwhile, Mr Coleman apologised for his actions. In a letter read out in court he offered his “deepest apologies” for his actions. He said he fail to turn up in court because of any disregard for the law but rather because he was afraid and suffering from PTSD.

“I ran because I was acting in fear. I did not want to relive the moment (of the shooting) again. My mind convinced me the only right way to fix my problems was to run.”

Mr O’Leary said that his client only had one previous conviction for dangerous driving for which he was jailed for six months with the last two months suspended. He said that his client wasn’t a “common criminal” but was simply suffering from anxiety and PTSD.

Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford said that a custodial sentence needed to be imposed in the case. She said that a fine was not a suitable option for such a serious case. 

She jailed Mr Coleman for six months with the last two months suspended. She backdated the sentence to 7 January last when Mr Coleman first entered garda custody.