Shooter in 'meticulously planned' murder of man in Dublin jailed for seven years

Michael Bolton

The shooter in a "meticulously planned" murder of a much-loved and vulnerable victim has been sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy charge.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott at the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday said it is accepted that Joseph Richards (35) was the man who shot and killed 45-year-old Robert Sheridan at the victim's front door in Poppintree Crescent, Ballymun, on October 5th, 2018.

Richards, of Lanesborough Square in Finglas, was initially accused of murder, but his trial was delayed due to the ill-health of a key witness.

The Director of Public Prosecutions agreed not to pursue the murder charge after the defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder.

Under the legislation in place in 2018, the maximum sentence available to the court is 10 years in prison. In 2023, the Oireachtas amended the legislation to introduce the possibility of life imprisonment for the same charge.

Mr Justice McDermott said this was the "most serious type" of offence of its kind and warranted a headline sentence at the then maximum of ten years. He said there was a "high degree of culpability" for all those involved in the "meticulously planned" execution.

Gardaí had previously warned Mr Sheridan of a threat to his life, and in the lead-up to the murder, his car was set alight, and shots were fired at his home.

Mr Justice McDermott said Richards and others involved went to "considerable lengths" to convince a friend of the victim, someone he would not suspect, to betray him by luring him to his front door.

He said Richards could not have been more involved in the conspiracy and was the man who carried out the actual shooting. The pre-planning was further evidenced by the successful disposal of the gun, which was never found, and the use of a getaway car.

Mitigating factors included that Richards pleaded guilty, has attempted to address his drug addiction issues in prison and has apologised, indicating "some understanding of the devastation he has caused".

Mr Justice McDermott said the victim's family remains shattered by the loss of a much-loved man who had vulnerabilities of his own following a motorcycle crash that left him with head injuries and difficulties living independently.

The judge imposed a sentence of seven-and-a-half years, with the final six months suspended for two years on condition that Richards continue to work with the probation services. The judge further noted that Richards, who has 99 previous convictions, has been in prison since 2021 and is currently serving a sentence of six years and five months.

Mr Justice McDermott directed that the sentence on the conspiracy charge should commence after Richards has completed the term he is currently serving, meaning that he will undergo an effective sentence of more than 12 years.

Threat

At a previous hearing, Detective Sergeant Patrick O’Toole told prosecuting senior counsel, Garrett McCormack, that gardaí received a call shortly after 11 pm on October 5th, reporting a man had been shot.

Mr Sheridan sustained gunshot wounds to the head and body and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim had recently received a Garda Information Message (GIM) warning that his life was under threat shortly before he was killed.

In a statement to gardaí, the deceased's partner, Maria Barrett, said on the date in question, Mr Sheridan responded to a knock at the patio door.

She said Mr Sheridan armed himself with a knife before answering the door because he feared for his safety.

Moments later, she heard sounds like firecrackers and found him lying on the ground with blood coming from his head.

A post-mortem examination carried out by Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan found that Mr Sheridan suffered two fatal gunshot wounds to the face - one above the right eyebrow and one to the right eye.

He also sustained a through-and-through gunshot wound to his forearm, along with graze injuries, indicating further shots were fired.

Shell casings from a 0.37 calibre revolver were recovered at the scene.

There was no breakthrough in the investigation until April 2021, when a witness came forward and said she knew the defendant through a group involved in taking and selling drugs in the Ballymun area.

She described how Richards “broke down” and admitted shooting Mr Sheridan.

He told her he had enlisted help from another individual and outlined a plan to use someone known to the victim to get the deceased to answer the door.

She told gardaí that Richards had been “crack crazy” and desperate for drugs when asked to carry out the killing, and he did it “effectively for payment”.

Richards entered a plea of guilty on the conspiracy to murder charge in January this year, and the plea was accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions on a full facts basis.

Det Gda O’Toole Richards' previous convictions include endangerment, dangerous driving, criminal damage, possession of drugs, unlawful taking of an MPV, robbery and possession of knives.

Restrained

In a victim impact statement, the deceased’s daughter, Lauren King Sheridan, said she had to be physically restrained when she arrived at the scene and saw her father with gunshot wounds to his head.

Ms King Sheridan said the next morning, she woke to pictures of her father being “wheeled out in a body bag” and this plays in her head “over and over”.

The now 26-year-old said the image of her father with a hole in his face is “permanently imprinted on my mind”.

She told the court that her father had completed studies in addiction counselling and planned to work in that field. He had previously suffered a brain injury in a traffic accident, which she said made him “a vulnerable target”.

Ms King Sheridan said her father “wasn’t a dangerous man” and wasn’t involved in criminal activities.

Mr Sheridan’s son, Dylan King Sheridan, said that since his father’s death, he continues to experience persistent psychological distress.

He said he questions how long his father may have suffered, “whether he was in fear or pain, these thoughts are uncontrollable and extremely distressing.”