A TRESPASSER who was with Keith Conlon when he was shot dead on barrister Diarmuid Phelan’s land is on the run from Gardai.
Kallum Coleman, 23, escaped from Tallaght Garda Station, in Dublin, hours after he was arrested over his failure to appear as a witness during the legal eagle’s trial for the killing of Conlon, 36 in February 2022.
5
5
Mr Phelan, 56, who had been charged with murder, was found not guilty by a jury last Friday after a lengthy trial at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court.
Coleman’s dog had been blasted dead by Mr Phelan before Conlon was shot on February 22, 2022.
He died in hospital two days later.
They had been badger baiting on Mr Phelan’s Hazelgrove Farm in Tallaght, with pal Robin Duggan, at the time of the fatal incident.
Coleman was recently arrested after arriving back to Ireland from Spain but there have been no sightings of him since he bolted from Garda custody.
And the Central Criminal Court heard last Friday that he was “unlawfully at large”.
A source said: “Coleman remains on the run and Gardai are making efforts to try and catch him.
“If he is arrested he will be brought before the presiding judge and asked to explain his reasons not to appear in court to give evidence. It’s possible he could be hit with a contempt of court charge.”
During Mr Phelan’s trial, the court heard how Coleman had a “change of heart” over his decision to give evidence.
And Judge Siobhan Lankford was told Coleman moved to Spain after he failed to appear as a prosecution witness at Mr Phelan’s trial.
‘FOX BOLTING’
Before his failure to appear as a witness, the court heard Coleman was with Conlon and Duggan when they were involved in “fox bolting” — a process of trying to catch foxes or badgers using an electronic tag that is attached to a dog.
The court heard Coleman’s dog was shot by the barrister with a Winchester rifle while it was tied by a leash to a tree before Conlon was also shot and killed.
And the court was further told Gardai had previously travelled to Spain to issue him with a summons.
But when he was on his way to the airport, Coleman told officers he wouldn’t be co-operating with the courts “in any way” and had decided he was “going to leg it”.
With Coleman now remaining “unlawfully at large”, we can reveal how he also found himself in trouble at another court hearing.
SCRAMBLER CRASH
On that occasion in July 2023, he received a five-month jail term, with the last three suspended, and was also banned from driving for five years.
He received the convictions after Dublin District Court heard he was on a scrambler motorbike when his pal Shane Ward, 27, crashed into student Thais Pelegrino, 31, at the Luas stop in Drimnagh, south Dublin on January 30, 2020.
Following the incident, a probe was launched by Garda Eamon Kearney, Sgt David Dunne, and Insp Gavin Ross under the command of Supt Frank Ferry.
After receiving the conviction, Conlon appealed it to the Court of Appeal.
KINAHAN THUG PAL
And when the case was heard on December 11, 2024, the court dismissed his appeal after he failed to appear because of his decision to remain in Spain.
Coleman was identified as one of the motorbike riders on CCTV after he arrived at Ward’s house without wearing a helmet.
We can also reveal Coleman — who has no involvement whatsoever in criminality or organised crime — is pals with Kinahan foot soldier Lee Gibson, 25, and sometimes socialises with him.
Our exclusive pictures shows the pair on a night out in Dublin before he fled for Spain.
5
5
