Belfast, May 29, (PA Media/dpa.GNA) – Seven men were remanded in custody, after appearing before a court on Monday, charged with the attempted murder of a senior Police Service man of Northern Ireland (PSNI) detective.
PSNI Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot several times outside a sports complex in Omagh, County Tyrone, in February.
Caldwell had been coaching a youth football match, and was with his young son at the time of the attack.
The so-called New IRA claimed responsibility for the attack, with police investigating if the dissident republican group may have been assisted by criminal gangs.
The seven accused who appeared via videolink at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning were: Jonathan McGinty, 28, of St Julians Downs, Omagh; Brian Carron, 38, of Claremount Drive, Coalisland; Gavin Coyle, 45, of Killybrack Mews, Omagh; Matthew McLean, 33, Glenpark Road, Omagh; Robert McLean, 29, Deverney Park, Omagh; James Ivor McLean, 72, of Deverney Park, Omagh; and Alan McFarland, 47, of Deverney Park, Omagh.
Carron and Coyle stand further accused of belonging to a proscribed organization, namely the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
McGinty, McFarland and Matthew McLean, are also charged with preparation of terrorist acts.
Three of the seven accused made bail applications on Monday: Coyle, James Ivor McLean and McGinty.
District judge Steven Keown refused bail for all three on the grounds of risk of further offending, and potential interference with the police investigation.
All seven were remanded in custody to appear before Omagh Magistrates’ Court, via videolink, on June 27.
After spending several weeks recovering in hospital, Caldwell made his first public appearance since the attempt on his life in February, as he attended a garden party at Hillsborough Castle during the King Charles III’s visit to Northern Ireland.
GNA