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Judge insists co-defendant be found before hit-and-run trial begins

Arrest warrant is active against a co-accused in case

Armagh Courthouse

A judge has insisted a man accused of causing the death of an Armagh teenager is located before a trial can proceed.

A European Arrest Warrant is currently active for the recovery of a man accused of causing Lesley-Ann McCarragher’s death early last year.

His co-accused Nathan Finn, 18, faces the same charge but the case cannot proceed in the absence of the second man according to the judge.

At a further sitting at Armagh Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Finn’s defence counsel had asked for the case to split and dealt with separately.

A defence solicitor said the case had been hanging over his client for a considerable amount of time without any signs of progression, which was causing his family some distress.

Finn’s case is ready for committal to Crown Court.

He is charged with causing death by dangerous driving on April 9 last year, as well as driving while uninsured and without a licence.

However, District Judge Paul Copeland refused the request to separate the co-accused “in the interests of justice”.

He also said the arrest of the co-accused could well be “imminent” according to statements from the prosecution.

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