Liam Keane given 10 year jail sentence

A prominent Limerick crime figure has been sentenced to 10 years in jail this morning after being convicted of the possession of a loaded semi automatic pistol, the possession of 13 rounds of ammunition and driving a stolen sports car in may last year.

24 year old Liam Keane, of Singland, Ballysimon and 21-year-old Greg Crawford were arrested by Gardai assisted by the Emergency Response Unit in the Corbally area of the city on May 4th after Gardai spotted the two men driving a stolen Mazda car. Following a very brief pursuit Gardai stopped the car and the pair were arrested and the pistol was discovered in the car, primed and loaded.

In court today Mr Keane was handed a 10 year jail sentence while his co-accused Greg Crawford was also handed down a 10 year sentence.

The court was told again today of how the same pistol found in the car which was stolen in Portmarnock, Dublin a month earlier, was used in an earlier shooting incident in April.

Keane had previously pleaded guilty to all charges laid before him on October 8 last, a court hearing where he stated he wasn’t intent on using the loaded 9mm Glock on anybody, insisting he was out that night to "see a bird".

Upon sentencing this morning, Jude Carroll Moran told the courtroom that both men were "in possession of a gun for a serious and sinister purpose for an immediate nature, which cannot be specified."