09/11/2007
Two Jailed For Loyalist Feud Killing
The killing of an innocent Londonderry man was recalled this week as two men were jailed for seven years each for their involvement in the loyalist feud-related murder.
Handing down seven-year jail terms to 42-year-old James Edward Taylor and Richard Harkness (29) at Belfast Crown Court, Mr Justice Treacy said it was clear that terrorist organisations needed help from other people to carry out their operations.
Originally both Harkness, from Baranailt Road in Claudy, and Taylor, from Lincoln Court in Derry, had been charged with murdering 22-year-old Darren Paul Thompson on October 1, 2004.
After three weeks of evidence, Taylor pleaded guilty to assisting Mr Thompson's killer by removing the murder weapon from the scene, while Harkness admitted possessing a Citroen Xsara in circumstances that gave rise to the suspicion that he had it for a terrorist purpose.
Mr Justice Treacy heard that on the morning of the killing - believed to have been part of a bloody UVF-UDA feud - police were already searching the homes of both Taylor and Harkness.
Mr Thompson, described as a "completely innocent" victim, had been walking along Woodburn Park on his way to work at Altnagelvin Hospital at around 7.30am on September 29 when he was shot once in the head, killing him.
(BMcC)
Handing down seven-year jail terms to 42-year-old James Edward Taylor and Richard Harkness (29) at Belfast Crown Court, Mr Justice Treacy said it was clear that terrorist organisations needed help from other people to carry out their operations.
Originally both Harkness, from Baranailt Road in Claudy, and Taylor, from Lincoln Court in Derry, had been charged with murdering 22-year-old Darren Paul Thompson on October 1, 2004.
After three weeks of evidence, Taylor pleaded guilty to assisting Mr Thompson's killer by removing the murder weapon from the scene, while Harkness admitted possessing a Citroen Xsara in circumstances that gave rise to the suspicion that he had it for a terrorist purpose.
Mr Justice Treacy heard that on the morning of the killing - believed to have been part of a bloody UVF-UDA feud - police were already searching the homes of both Taylor and Harkness.
Mr Thompson, described as a "completely innocent" victim, had been walking along Woodburn Park on his way to work at Altnagelvin Hospital at around 7.30am on September 29 when he was shot once in the head, killing him.
(BMcC)
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