Freddie Thompson is an Irish criminal connected to the Crumlin-Drimnagh feud who was also convicted of the murder of David Douglas.[1]

Early life

He was born in 1980 and grew up in the Maryland area of south-inner city Dublin.[1] He first came to the attention of the Garda Síochána in his teens for car theft and related offences.[1]

He was a cousin of Liam Byrne whose brother David who was shot in February 2016.[2]

Thompson assumed control of the Dublin branch of the Kinahan gang after Christy Kinahan was jailed in 1997 in relation to stolen cheques.[3]

During 2007-2008 he was involved with a feud with the INLA, including Declan Duffy, which caused him to flee Dublin several times.[3][4] Because of this, Liam Byrne gradually assumed control of the Dublin branch of the gang.[3]

Ambush

In 2008 he was travelling in a Four-wheel drive car in Spain with Paddy Doyle and Gary Hutch, a nephew of Gerry Hutch when they were ambushed and Doyle was shot dead.[1] (Gary Hutch was shot at the start of the Hutch–Kinahan feud.[1])

Extradition to Spain

Thompson was extradited to Spain in 2011 after Spanish authorities linked him to an organisation based in the Costa del Sol, namely the Kinahan gang.[1] He was allowed to return to Ireland in 2013.[1] He was wanted in Spain on three charges - unlawful assembly, drugs charges and possession of weapons and arms trafficking.[5] Spanish authorities claimed that he procured weapons for the organisation and is a bodyguard and chauffeur.[5]

Thompson submitted a statement of means claiming he had no income.[5] Counsel for the state asked how Thompson could support himself when he did not claim welfare, was not registered for business or tax yet travelled around Europe.[5] Thompson claimed he was supported by his mother.[5] The judge found the statement of means very unsatisfactory and refused free legal aid.[5]

Extradition from Netherlands

In May 2014 he was arrested by Dutch police on foot of an international arrest warrant.[6] He was extradited from Amsterdam and held in custody.[6][7] It was related to a brawl on 7 January 2013, at Morriseys' pub, Cork Street, "sparked by slagging" after a funeral.[7]

In February 2015 he pleaded guilty to violent disorder for which he was jailed.[1][7] At the time of the Garda investigation Thompson had 29 previous convictions.[7] Judge Martin Nolan said that Thompson had probably caused the brawl and that he had thrown a bottle at someone.[7] He also described the brawl as "a quite serious fracas" in which many people were involved.[7] Thompson pleaded guilty and his sentence was backdated to 23 May 2014, the date he was first remanded.[7]

Murder of David Douglas

In July 2016, David Douglas was murdered and Thompson was charged with the murder that November.[1][8] In August 2018, Thompson was convicted of the murder.[1][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Schiller, Robin (1 September 2018), 'Fat' Freddie Thompson: from juvenile car thief to feared gangland criminal, Irish Independent, retrieved 1 September 2018
  2. ↑ Foy, Ken (9 February 2016). "Convicted criminal 'Fat' Freddie Thompson 'had blood on clothes' when arrested last night". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Lally, Conor (30 March 2019). "Liam Byrne: Daniel Kinahan's lieutenant in Dublin". Irish Times. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  4. ↑ McCaffrey, Mick (22 June 2008). "Gangland feud to explode, senior gardaí warn". Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Freddie Thompson to be extradited to Spain". RTE News. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Dutch police hold Irish man wanted by Gardaí". Irish Examiner. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MacLean, Sonya (3 February 2015). "'Fat Freddie' jailed for funeral brawl". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  8. ↑ "Freddie Thompson charged with murder of David Douglas". TheJournal.ie. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  9. ↑ "Freddie Thompson found guilty of feud murder of David Douglas". TheJournal.ie. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.

See also

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