A 29-year-old charged after an incident at an industrial estate during which a man was seriously injured and shots were fired has been returned to custody following a breach of bail.
idan Holbrook, from Mullaghmore Road in Dungannon, is charged with causing grievous bodily harm on November 12 and possessing a firearm and a knife.
At his first appearance before Dungannon Magistrates Court around a week after the incident in Granville, a detective explained initial reports suggested a man had been shot and subsequently crashed his car near Stangmore Roundabout.
Officers found him bleeding badly from multiple wounds, and while it transpired he had been repeatedly stabbed, gunshots were fired during the incident.
He tried to escape in his car but crashed.
The court heard all parties know each other and there had been a fall-out, in which insults were traded followed by an arrangement to meet in the secluded industrial estate.
The injured party thought it would be “a punch-up to sort out differences. Instead, he was set upon”.
Bail was refused on that occasion, but later granted by the High Court on strict terms including a ban on being in any private vehicle unless to attend with his solicitor.
However, Holbrook was brought before the most recent sitting of Strabane Magistrates Court after being found in the passenger seat of a car.
While that actually occurred on February 6, the officer did not know of the bail conditions, and it was only when a detective became aware that Holbrook was then arrested when he signed bail this week.
At the time he said he was travelling to the shops, also stating he had Covid symptoms, although he later admitted this was untrue.
Opposing re-release, an officer said: “There is an inability to adhere to bail conditions. We are fearful of witness interference. We received information last month that he offered money to obtain the addresses of the injured parties.”
It was also revealed Holbrook’s partner reported being intimidated by the injured parties, but this was found to be false.
The defence said the breach was accepted and both Holbrook and his partner insist they told police this at the scene, but a decision was made not to arrest.
“He accepts he shouldn’t have been in the car, but there was an incident on January 30. His partner was travelling alone and alleges the injured parties were in a car park, flashing their lights and blowing their horn to intimidate her,” the solicitor said.
“She drove away and dialled 999. This was reported to police for information purposes only. This whole situation is having an impact on her, and unfortunately my client took a stupid decision to travel with her.”
Conceding the charges are very serious, the defence stressed: “All is not exactly as it seems. There are questions over whether the injured parties come to court with clean hands. It has been suggested they are drug dealers.”
But in response the officer said: “The partner did make that report and claimed she was on her own. CCTV shows she had a front seat passenger, possibly the defendant.”
Deputy District Judge Austin Kennedy said, given the circumstances, that bail is revoked.
Belfast Telegraph
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