Coolock criminal who ordered hit on Jordan Davis is linked to another murder

Mr Davis (22) was shot dead more than three years ago in north Dublin as he pushed his four-month-old son in a pram near a primary school.

Wayne Cooney (31), of Glenshane Drive, Tallaght, was yesterday convicted of the fatal gun attack, which the court heard stemmed from a €70,000 drug debt owed by the victim.

Gardaí believe that debt was owed to a significant Coolock drug dealer who has been a primary target for anti-gangland gardaí in recent years.

The 33-year-old criminal –who could only be referred to as CD during the trial – is also suspected of direct involvement in at least one other fatal shooting.

He has also been investigated for attempted murder, shootings, and was previously arrested when gardaí foiled a potential gangland hit.

Detectives suspect he enlisted Cooney to carry out the murder as he was in a relationship with the drug dealer’s sister at the time.

The Central Criminal Court also heard how the criminal sent Mr Davis threatening texts in the lead up to the killing.

In the messages, he warned: “I’m on your case mate, it won’t be long,” and later told him: “Soon, very soon, bang bang.”

Read more: Dublin man found guilty of murdering Jordan Davis (22) as he wheeled infant son in pram

Read more: Man accused of murder of dad is either guilty or 'most unlucky person ever', court told

Mr Davis was shot three times on May 22, 2019, as he pushed his infant son in a pram at a laneway beside Our Lady of Immaculate National School in Darndale.

Minutes earlier, he had posted a tribute to his friend Sean Little (22), who was shot dead the previous morning in a gangland killing.

It took the jury just over three hours to find that Cooney was the cyclist who circled Mr Davis for three days like a “shark moving towards its prey” before firing eight shots at him from a 9mm pistol.

Mr Davis suffered three gunshot wounds, including one to the head, killing him instantly.

After the verdict was delivered Mr Justice Tony Hunt thanked the jurors for their hard work in a “distressing” trial.

He described the recklessness of Cooney in firing eight times while Davis pushed his son in a pram as “astonishing”.

The victim’s mother, Sandra Davis, was supported by friends and family as the verdict was read out.

Prosecution barrister Bernard Condon SC told the jury the circumstantial evidence against Cooney was such that he was either the shooter or the “most unlucky person ever”.

A garda had identified Cooney from CCTV footage as the cyclist circling Mr Davis.

Cooney’s DNA was found on a glove in an area where the shooter could be seen discarding gloves and a black bodywarmer minutes after the shooting.

The prosecution also relied on evidence that showed Cooney’s phone called CD when the person identified on CCTV as the shooter was seen holding a phone to his ear.