A gangster working for the Kinahan cartel promised his associates not to make any mistakes in an “operation” he was involved in, saying: “One clean shot to the head, no mistakes, he’s going to go down.”
Jason “Jay” O’Connor worked for the murderous mob during the height of the Hutch organized crime gang’s feud, while simultaneously plotting to shoot a man in revenge for the murder of his innocent friend.
But investigators caught O’Connor for his crimes after an encrypted Blackberry phone seized eight years ago was cracked following new technological developments that revealed his interactions with associates.
The 46-year-old thug appeared before the Special Criminal Court on Tuesday for his sentencing hearing.
He previously admitted plotting to kill Charlie Cooper on December 5, 2016, and facilitating a criminal organisation, named in court as the Kinahan Organised Crime Group, to carry out the murder.
The court heard how O’Connor was left “haunted” by the murder of fellow pigeon enthusiast Keith Walker in a case of mistaken identity.
Innocent Walker was shot dead by Christopher McDonald, now serving a life sentence, at Blanchardstown Pigeon Racing Club on Shelerin Road, Clonsilla, Dublin, on 12 June 2015.
Mr Walker was driving a car linked to O’Connor on the day the evil gunman McDonald, dressed as a woman, was shot in a case of mistaken identity.
This led to the attack on Mr Cooper the following year, when the target was shot several times but managed to run to a neighbour’s house, surviving the impact after a stint in ICU.
Over the following days, Blanchardstown officers raided two addresses linked to O’Connor, where they seized several devices.
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And messages on a Blackberry revealed how, in the months before Cooper’s shooting, O’Connor was planning a “revenge” attack.
He said he was devastated by Walker’s death, adding that it was “consuming” me and that 16 months was too long, before adding: “Anyone involved needs to go.”
Messages
On the day of Cooper’s shooting, the attached text message to O’Connor read: “Lovely stuff, happy f***ing days.”
There was also a reference from O’Connor who wrote: “That’s for Walker.”
In other text exchanges between O’Connor and her partner, there were references to getting rid of clothes and taking a “nice shower.”
O’Connor wrote: “Thanks dude, I’m stoked for Walker, I’m going to take them all out now.”
Another message from December 7, 2016, referred to “an eye for an eye.”
‘Operations’
Blanchardstown investigators also discovered further messages which Detective Inspector Liam O’Donovan confirmed were related to O’Connor’s role in facilitating the murder for the Kinahan organised crime group.
These crimes occurred between 7 August and 7 December 2016 and are related to five “operations”.
The messages referred to the installation of trackers on cars, a key tactic of the Kinahan organised crime group during the feud.
There was also talk of a silencer, named targets and their movements.
While speaking to a man identified in court only as “Associate A,” O’Connor and his co-worker text each other about shooting a person at an unidentified location.
O’Connor said there was “nowhere to park or look” while ‘Associate A’ responded by saying it was a “suicide mission there” and the only way was to do it on “the grappling hook.”
In another exchange, ‘Associate A’ wrote how a tracker was placed on the wrong engine.
Ruthless O’Connor said: “I’m not going to make a mistake, a clean shot to the head, no mistakes, it’s going to go down.”
‘Tormented’ by death
There were a series of messages referring to the tracking of a vehicle and a target.
Defence lawyer Michael Bowman told the court Mr Walker’s death “haunted” O’Connor, who was in a very bad mental state at the time.
He said that in late 2016, his client was seeing a psychiatrist and his medication was increased at that time.
But O’Connor also self-medicated with street pills and cocaine.
Mr Bowman said O’Connor is a father of four and his partner was in court to support him.
He recounted how after O’Connor was released from his latest conviction in 2021, he addressed his drug problem for the first time.
Pharmacotherapy
O’Connor graduated from a drug treatment program last year before being arrested and charged with these crimes in late August 2023.
Mr Bowman described it as a “very significant turning point” and explained that it represented “green shoots of recovery”.
In a letter written in custody, O’Connor said he fully appreciates the harm he has caused.
O’Connor wrote that he grew up in a violent environment where he had disputes with friends and associates before seeking revenge.
He also admits that his activities cost him and his community a lot and that he no longer wants to participate in these activities as he used to.
‘Totally realistic’
Mr Bowman said O’Connor was “completely realistic” that he would receive a long sentence for his crimes.
Prosecutor Sean Gillane said the maximum sentence for O’Connor’s crimes is 10 to 15 years.
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Responding to a question from the three-judge bench, Mr Gillane said it had taken so long to come before the court because it had only recently become possible to access messages on encrypted devices.
O’Connor, who has 70 convictions between 1996 and 2019, including for assault, robbery and having a telephone behind bars, is due to be sentenced in October.
