Significant new evidence has been uncovered in the case of the attempted murder of former DCI John Caldwell, however this will impact on the ongoing delay which has been raised as a major issue by defence lawyers on numerous occasions.
Seven 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.
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.
It is also believed there was an attempted attack two weeks beforehand which was stood down.
Defence lawyers have repeatedly expressed frustration over the delay, with numerous dates since last year provided for the serving of case papers, but these are repeatedly being pushed back.
Last month Omagh Magistrates Court was told of a target date at the end of August however on return today (Tuesday) the prosecution advised of further delay due to the discovery of new evidence.
She explained, “CCTV evidence has been discovered that is highly relevant to the prosecution case. Police presented this to the (PPS) Directing officer on 30 June and 10 July. Contemporaneous CCTV was obtained at the beginning of the investigation and as that progressed additional CCTV for earlier dates was seized. Once the investigation began it was realised this wasn’t an isolated date and significant planning and preparation had been undertaken on both the night of the attack and the early failed attempt.”
The court heard, “The significance of this was not apparent at the last sitting. It consists of 14 hard drives and eight USB drives and this footage is being worked on. Given the significance of what has been found on CCTV from 10 February 2023, it is necessary to include it in the case. It is regrettable there has been slippage, but this new evidence is important.”
District Judge Conor Heaney enquired, “What confidence can this court be expected to have in relation to the timelines?”
The prosecution replied: “The case was progressing by the last update, but nobody realised the significance of what the police would then tell the Directing Officer. It’s necessary to prove an aspect of the case.”
The judge asked: “What happened between February 2023 and June this year?”
The prosecution said: “That’s the nature of this case. For every string that is pulled, it continues to unravel. Every string has to be followed. It just so happened this (evidence) is so substantial and significant that it makes sense to be included.”
But Judge Heaney remarked: “This troubles me. I accept there is significant complexity, but delay cannot be good in the administration of justice. This again throws into doubt what the court has been told. I don’t understand why this evidence was only recently presented and I don’t know how long it was in the possession of police. It suggests to me there was evidence which was glaringly apparent but wasn’t picked up.”
The precaution confirmed police would be spoken to on this “to assuage the court’s concerns”.
Agreeing to an adjournment until August 18, Judge Heaney, said: “This is very unsatisfactory. It will soon be nigh on four years since the incident. The prosecution will have to reach the point where they simply say what we have, we have. Any other material will have to be served as additional evidence.”
