Three men remanded over ‘letter claiming responsibility for attack’ on DCI John Caldwell

Three men have been remanded in custody on charges related to a claim of responsibility by a dissident republican group for the attempted murder of Police Service of Northern Ireland member John Caldwell.

The charges centre around a written claim of responsibility for the attack, which also contained a threat to police, purportedly from the New IRA, which was placed on a wall on Central Drive in Derry.

Det Chief Insp Caldwell was shot a number of times in front of his son at a sports complex in Omagh, Co Tyrone, on February 22nd last.

William McDonnell (36), of Balbane Pass, Derry; Caolan Brogan (23), of Bluebellhill Gardens, Derry; and Tiarnan McFadden, (25), of Carnhill, Derry, have all been charged with possession of articles for use in terrorism.

It is contended that they were involved in placing the claim of responsibility on the wall on the evening of February 26th last. Police evidence includes CCTV, aerial surveillance and telecommunications, the court heard.

Potential interference

A detective constable told the court he believed he could connect the three accused men to the charge. He said police objected to bail due to a risk of reoffending and potential interference with the ongoing investigation in terms of attempts to destroy evidence.

A lawyer acting for Mr McDonnell said the case against his client is “very, very weak indeed” and that the accused would be willing to comply with bail conditions.

The same lawyer, who also acted for Mr Brogan, said CCTV evidence linking his client is “not strong” and “carries difficulty with identification” given the alleged incident happened at night. He said being denied bail would put Mr Brogan’s job with an engineering company in jeopardy.

A lawyer acting for Mr McFadden said the evidence against his client relies on “covert officers on the ground, covert officers in the sky and vehicle-identifying equipment”. He contended that all the evidence shows is his client in the company of his usual social circle.

He said Mr McFadden is a member of IRWPA, a welfare group for prisoners, and regularly maintains a notice board at Central Drive, removing graffiti.

‘Heinous attack’

District Judge Barney McElholm said it was an “extremely serious matter”, concerning the “heinous attack on Mr Caldwell in front of his son and other young children”.

He refused applications for bail for the three men on the grounds of a risk of a “fear of further offending”.

“Clearly these people are closely associated with organisations who have no respect for the law,” he said. “At this stage there remains the possibility of interference with the course of an investigation. But the fear of further offending is what is uppermost. So for that reason I am refusing bail in each case.”

The men are due to appear in court again via video link on August 3rd.

Earlier this week three men were remanded into custody after appearing before Dungannon Magistrates’ Court on charges in connection with the attempted murder of Mr Caldwell. In May, seven men were remanded after appearing at the same court on similar charges. - PA