Gun murder was planned assassination reminiscent of terrorist ambush, court told

The murder of a man in Co Down in 2019 was a “planned assassination reminiscent of a terrorist ambush”, a judge has said.

Two men have been told they must serve sentences in excess of 20 years in prison before they can be considered for parole for the murder of Malcolm McKeown.

Mr McKeown, 54, was shot as he sat in a BMW parked at the back of a service station in Waringstown.

Jake O’Brien, 31, from Rectory Road in Lurgan and Andrew Thomas Kenneth Martin, 30, of Bridge Street in Banbridge were both found guilty earlier this year of the murder and also possession of firearms.

There was a significant police presence in Antrim Crown Court on Monday for the tariff hearing.

Judge Mr Justice Fowler told the court that Mr McKeown had sustained fatal gunshot wounds to the head and body.

He said the victim had died of multiple gunshot wounds with at least 16 bullets fired from two guns.

He added: “Malcolm McKeown was well known to the police in the Craigavon area and had just been released from prison 12 days prior to his murder.”

He said Mr McKeown had been previously been shot and wounded and received warnings from police he was under threat from other organised criminals in the area.

He said Mr McKeown had bought the BMW vehicle just days before he was shot.

On August 19 2019 a dark coloured VW Passat was seen on CCTV entering the forecourt of the filling station.

The judge said Mr McKeown was seen on CCTV walking past an ATM machine towards his car.

He added: “Mr McKeown was found slumped over the driver seat of his car with shotgun wounds to his head and abdomen.

“He was confirmed dead at the scene.

“He had been hit with at least six bullets, one of which was to the head and would have been rapidly fatal.”

He said the victim had been shot at close range with bullets from two guns.

The Passat was later found on fire in Lurgan and CCTV showed two men running away from the car.

Mr Justice Fowler said the court had decided there was an “overwhelming circumstantial case” against O’Brien and Martin.

He said he had read victim impact statements from members of Mr McKeown’s family.

The judge said: “This case involved a planned assassination reminiscent of a terrorist ambush.”

He said the victim was shot when he was vulnerable.

He added: “The shooting took place at the side of a busy filling station in broad daylight within feet of customers in the forecourt of the garage and petrol pumps and an ATM machine.”

He told O’Brien he must serve 26 years in prison for the murder before he can be considered for parole.

Martin, who had earlier pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the murder, a plea not accepted by the prosecution, was told he must serve 24 years before he can be considered for parole.

Turning to the possession of firearms charges, the judge said: “The weapons used were lethal and used in a proficient manner.

“The planning to carry out the shooting was detailed and extensive.”

The judge sentenced the two defendants to indeterminate custodial sentences of at least 10 years for the weapons offences, to run concurrently with the sentencing for the murder charges.

PSNI Detective Inspector Jennifer Rea said Malcolm McKeown’s life was “cruelly taken”.

She said: “He had gone into a shop at a garage in the Main Street area of Waringstown on the evening of August 19 in 2019, and returned to his car some minutes later.

“It was here, in his car, that he was shot at close range.

“Mr McKeown was shot at least six times in a calculated and cold-blooded execution, which took place in broad daylight.

“His body was found, in his parked car, by two young teenagers who, I’ve no doubt, will have been left scarred by their terrible discovery that evening.”

Ms Rea continued: “This brutal and targeted attack left an entire community shaken and a family bereft.

“Mr McKeown was a much-loved father of three, who have each since endured further sorrow by the passing of their mother.

“He was a grandfather, a brother and an uncle.”

She said: “Those responsible had one intention – to kill.

“And they showed no thought for anyone, including children, in the area at that time.

“Surely, such acts of shocking and senseless violence have no place whatsoever in our society.

“This was a murder, involving the use of firearms, which was pre-planned and organised. I want to be clear that police continue, and will continue, to work tirelessly to investigate and bring those involved in such organised criminality to justice. “