A person convicted of possessing the gun used to shoot journalist Lyra McKee has been sentenced to seven years in jail.
Niall Sheerin, 29, pleaded responsible earlier this 12 months to possession of a pistol and ammunition with intent to allow one other particular person to hazard life.
At a listening to in Belfast on Wednesday, decide Mr Justice Fowler handed down an prolonged custodial sentence of seven years’ imprisonment and an extra 5 years on licence.
The gun used to kill the creator – a Hammerli X-Esse .22 pistol – was discovered wrapped in plastic luggage in a hole behind a telegraph pole in a discipline within the Ballymagroarty space of Londonderry in 2020.
Bullets and a spent ammunition journal have been additionally found within the bundle.
Ballistics exams confirmed the pistol had been utilized in 5 shootings within the metropolis within the earlier 21 months, together with the April 18, 2019 homicide of Ms McKee.
The 29-year-old was shot useless as she noticed rioting within the Creggan space of Derry.
The dissident republican organisation styling itself because the New IRA admitted accountability for her homicide.
DNA linked to Sheerin was discovered on the weapon.
The defendant, from Tyrconnell Road in Derry, admitted possession of the weapon on dates unknown between September 11, 2018 and June 6, 2020.
At an earlier sentence listening to, a defence barrister insisted Sheerin had no data of how the weapon had been used previous to him storing it for a “brief time frame”.
The Crown contended that Sheerin was conscious he was storing a gun on behalf of the New IRA.
Nonetheless, prosecutors accepted they might not set up whether or not the defendant would have been conscious of the particular historical past of the firearm.
On Wednesday, Justice Fowler mentioned he needed to clarify he was not passing sentence in reference to the homicide of Ms McKee, as he famous it had not been established whether or not Sheerin knew the historical past of the weapon earlier than he got here into possession of it.
“I'm sentencing on the idea of his intention to allow others to hazard life by advantage of the very fact he was in possession and saved this weapon for a terrorist organisation he knew was actively engaged in gun assaults, considered one of which had brought about the loss of life of Lyra McKee,” he mentioned.
The decide mentioned there was no proof earlier than the courtroom that the defendant had an “organisational function” with the New IRA “nor any involvement over and above storage of this weapon”.
In addition to handing down the prolonged sentence, he ordered Sheerin to signal notification necessities underneath counter-terrorism legal guidelines for 15 years.
Three males are presently awaiting trial charged with the homicide of Ms McKee.
Following the sentencing of Sheerin, the Police Service of Northern Eire mentioned the investigation into the capturing of the journalist stays “very a lot lively”.
Detective Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan mentioned: “Lyra McKee, at simply 29 years previous, died after being shot in Creggan, in Derry/Londonderry, on April 18, 2019.
“It’s over three years now since that tragic day, and the ache felt by Lyra’s family members is understandably as uncooked as ever.
“I wish to thank members of the general public for his or her assist, and I’m eager to reassure the neighborhood that we stay dedicated to working with them and our accomplice businesses to cease the corrosive affect of terrorists.
“Our investigation into Lyra’s homicide, as demonstrated by immediately’s sentencing, may be very a lot lively. And, with continued assist, we'll work tirelessly to carry these accountable earlier than the courts.
“We're very grateful to the unbiased charity Crimestoppers, which is now providing an elevated reward of as much as £20,000 for data it receives that results in the prosecution of these accountable.”