One of the two men involved in a suspected aggravated burglary in Armagh over the weekend has rubbished claims by the alleged victim stating that it was an altercation over drugs “he had given money for but didn’t receive”.
Thirty-six-year-old Dominic Christopher Bond’s defence barrister stated that while it “doesn’t put him in a particularly good light”, his client “gave an account, warts and all… despite being entitled to keep silent and to hear the evidence being put to him”.
“And that account,” the barrister added, “in effect, rubbishes what the witness in this case has said.”
Bond, of no fixed abode in Belfast, appeared before Newry Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with aggravated burglary with intent to commit grievous bodily harm and robbery.
His co-accused, 38-year-old Joseph Martin Duffy, of Collingbrook in Dunmurry, also faces the same charges.
Detective Constable Glenn, outlining the facts to the court, said that around 10:15pm on Saturday night, police were on patrol when they observed what appeared to be an ongoing incident in the Glenside/Killuney Drive area.
Two men immediately made off from police, running and jumping into the river a short distance away.
One of the men — Duffy — jumped off a bridge onto the rocks below, injuring himself in the process.
Bond jumped into the river and was uninjured.
The complainant reported to police that, at approximately 10pm, the two defendants entered his home in Glenside uninvited, through an unlocked front door.
They allegedly confronted the complainant, with Bond pulling a pair of scissors — which he had concealed in a pocket — and pointing them at him while shouting for him to empty his pockets.
A resident of the property, who was in the kitchen at the time, “heard the commotion and entered the living room and witnessed the injured party being attacked by both males”.
The complainant “managed to get out of the living room into the kitchen and attempted to escape the property via the back door.
“Both males followed [the complainant] into the kitchen and, while he struggled to open the lock of the door, Bond thrust the scissors towards him in an attempt to stab him.”
Duffy is alleged to have “picked up a one-metre-long plank of wood from the floor of the room and began to hit [the complainant] repeatedly”.
The alleged victim then managed to escape, but both defendants “chased him approximately 30 metres to the back of the property, pulled him to the ground, and kicked him in the head while yelling at him to empty his pockets”.
Bond and Duffy allegedly took two £20 notes from him and made off from the scene.
The complainant suffered several injuries, but no medical treatment was sought.
According to DC Glenn, who was objecting to bail, Bond has an extensive criminal record of 118 convictions, including violent offences, aggravated burglary, possession of an offensive weapon, assault occasioning actual bodily harm (AOABH), grievous bodily harm (GBH), and numerous assaults on police.
He has been arrested for breaching bail 19 times, escaped from lawful custody in 2017, and is currently on a suspended sentence until April 2026.
However, Bond’s defence barrister argued there was no aggravated burglary and no robbery as alleged.
“In effect, Mr Bond’s account is that he travelled with his co-accused by bus from Belfast to meet up with friends in the area, staying at an apartment… where they were drinking.
“Other people within the house had been taking drugs, and they had been purchasing their drugs from the complainant in this case, who lived upstairs in the apartment.
“At some point during the evening, Mr Bond went upstairs to purchase drugs and, in effect, this is where things went very badly wrong.”
According to the barrister, Bond did not receive “the drugs he had given money for, and at this stage there was a bit of a dispute between the parties… which ended up as a physical disagreement because Mr Bond didn’t get what he had paid for.”
He added: “It doesn’t put him in a particularly good light, obviously, with the courts, because he was purchasing drugs. But this is not an aggravated burglary, and it is not a robbery.
“Police came upon this scene, and in fact, had police not come upon the scene, it’s very unlikely — given the fact that [the complainant] hasn’t sought any medical attention — that this case would ever have come before the court.”
The barrister argued that police still have a lot of work to do, and his client was forthcoming with his account and also provided the passcode to his mobile phone.
District Judge Eamon King granted bail to an address in Belfast and ordered Bond to stay out of Armagh, as defined by the 30mph zone.
No bail application was made for Duffy and he was remanded into custody.
The case was adjourned with both men to appear back at Armagh Magistrates’ Court on July 8.
