A Lurgan man accused of assaulting his mother has been granted bail despite having 101 previous convictions on his record.
Allowing the 31-year-old bail, the district judge said she understood the concerns but, given the withdrawal statement, the case was unlikely to proceed based on bodycam footage alone.
Jamie Donnel Geddis, of Albert Mews, appeared for the purposes of a bail application charged with one count of common assault at Craigavon Magistrates’, via videolink from Maghaberry.
Objecting to bail, a constable outlined that the defendant was a “priority offender” with 101 previous convictions, including seven for common assault and three for serious assault.
The constable informed the court that there had been a withdrawal statement but in an initial account record on police bodycam the injured party stated: “He has been taking too much of that cocaine and he had just lost the plot.”
Further to this, the constable said that Geddis had a history of domestic violence and 10 previous breaches of bail.
District Judge Bernie Kelly stated that she understood the concerns but given the withdrawal statement the case was unlikely to proceed based on bodycam footage alone.
She commented that given this Geddis could end up serving time for an offence he is ultimately not convicted off.
The defendant was granted his own bail of £500 to an address in Portadown, conditions of this included; an 8pm-6am curfew, not to enter Lurgan, not to contact the injured party, not to enter licensed premises along with a prohibition on alcohol and non-prescribed drugs.
The case was then adjourned until September 24 for an update.
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