Committal papers to transfer those charged in connection with the attempted murder of DCI John Caldwell for trial at Crown Court are expected to be served by December.
One defence lawyer, however, has repeated concerns over delay.
Eight men are charged with attempting to murder DCI Caldwell, who was shot on February 22, 2023 while he coached a football team at the Omagh Youth Sport Centre.
Three others are accused of preparing for acts of terrorism.
Following the attack the assailants fled in a blue Ford Fiesta, which was later found burnt out near Racolpa Road in Omagh.
They then switched to a black Mercedes, which drove to Deverney Park where they went to the rear of a house then left in a white Transit Van
The weapons used in the attack remain unaccounted for.
A number of recent disclosures included the belief of an attempted attack two weeks beforehand which was stood down as the football practice was called off.
Defence lawyers have repeatedly expressed frustration over the delay and the prosecution have pointed to the complexity of the case..
While it was previously accepted the PPS directing officer didn’t act for two months on receiving the police file as they wanted it in paper format rather than electronic, prosecution counsel said, “There are operational constraints on the PSNI and it’s not just as simple as saying they sat on their hands and did nothing.
“This is a circumstantial case involving a rake of defendants. It is a highly complex, intense investigation into one of the most sinister events in recent times where the IRA, in coalition with a non-political group, collaborated in a pre-planned assassination attempt. That can’t be ignored in the context of progress.”
Today (Tuesday) the prosecution informed Omagh Magistrates Court, “It is hoped committal papers will be served in December containing an 20,000 pages.”
But the defence said, “The timetable for committal papers in December amounts to undue delay and violation of the defendants’ right to a fair trial in a reasonable period of time. That’s 19 months. If the custody time limits applied here as they do in England, for the exact same charges the defendants would all have been released eight times by now.”
In terms of the complexity of the case, he continued, “During the Troubles, there was never a case that I’m aware of that nearly came to 19 months.”
District Judge Pater Magill did not accept this, stating, “There were some that took years.”
The defence, however, said, “That amounts to clear violation. This isn’t a complex case. During the Troubles the trial would have been over in even more complex cases, with more stretched resources. The Omagh Bomb case didn’t go more than 19 months before a committal. If papers are only served in December, we are looking at a committal in January, February or March. That is undue delay.”
He continued, “The only remedy is to grant bail for all defendants. What date are we going to have a trial? Are we honestly going to keep defendants in custody with a presumption of innocence for this length of time? Where is the complexity?”
The judge replied, “I understand this case involves a great deal of CCTV, telecommunications and sightings with many, many strands and skeins.”
The defence hit back, “All those strands are there, so what evidence is outstanding? There isn’t any. The case has been built and there are no new revelations. We should get on with it and have a committal to Crown Court.”
Judge Magill requested a further update around what may be awaited and the prosecution advised, “Specific personnel have been assigned to expedite this process.”
The case will be mentioned again on July 16.
Most read today
Operator’s Licence Notice
