Gangland killing accused who absconded while on bail to be released from custody again

Mr Justice Fowler directed that Kevin Conway must provide an increased cash security of £10,000 before he can be allowed back out of prison.

Conway, 25, is one of three men charged with the murder of Shane Whitla in Lurgan, Co Armagh on January 12 this year.

Mr Whitla, a 39-year-old father of four, was gunned down in an alleyway off Woodville Street over an alleged drug debt to a notorious crime gang known as The Firm.

Prosecutors claim Conway, originally from Deeney Drive in the town, set the victim up in phone calls which lured him to the scene of the execution-style shooting carried out by two other men.

He was first granted bail on February 20 under conditions which included a prohibition on accessing the internet.

Five days later, however, a relative of Mr Whitla suspected that the defendant was online using Facebook messenger.

Screenshot images were forwarded to police who then called at Conway’s bail address in Newry to investigate the potential breach of a prohibition on accessing the internet.

He was arrested at the property for the alleged violation but allowed to retrieve a packet of cigarettes and have a smoke at the front door, the court heard.

At that point he ran off in just his socks, pursued by police officers who were unable to capture him.

Two days later Conway handed himself in at a PSNI station and had his bail revoked.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) mounted an appeal after a Deputy District Judge granted his application to be released again last Friday.

Crown lawyer Adrian Higgins argued there could be no confidence in Conway abiding by the conditions of his release.

Concerns were also expressed that the defendant could be targeted in a possible reprisal attack.

“There are high tensions in the Lurgan area,” Mr Higgins said.

“The suggestion is that this was an organised criminal gang, and there is an ongoing feud regarding drug debts.”

Defence counsel Aaron Thompson insisted Conway is only charged with the murder on the basis of a disputed joint enterprise, unlike the co-accused who are alleged to have been the actual gunmen.

The barrister accepted his client acted “stupidly” by fleeing from police, but argued that he remained at large for less than 48 hours.

“He ran away wearing a pair of socks in what was a fairly panicked and rushed decision,” Mr Thompson submitted.

Mr Justice Fowler noted that Conway fled after police showed him “an act of kindness”.

But rejecting the PPS appeal, he cited the increased financial security being offered.

The judge confirmed: “With a degree of hesitation, I’m on the view that this applicant (can be admitted to bail) with an enhanced cash surety, and it will be £10,000.”