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A man was convicted today in connection with an incident in Omagh during which he refused to come down from the roof of a property.
Daniel Stephen Rodger (23), of Larch Grove, Ballyhenry, near Newtownabbey, appeared before Omagh Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to charges of resisting police and attempted criminal damage.
Police were called on the night of December 30, 2024, after Rodger was reported to be on the roof of a property near Omagh town centre.
Upon arrival, officers were involved in a short stand-off as Rodger refused to climb down from the building on James Street.
When he eventually left the rooftop, he was arrested and transported in a police van to the South West Acute Hospital. While in custody, Rodger reportedly headbutted the van door several times until he lost consciousness.
His defence solicitor told the court that Rodger had spent nine months in custody on other matters but had been found to be time served earlier that day at the appeal court in Omagh.
The solicitor asked the judge to leave a sentence ‘over his head’ rather than impose immediate imprisonment.
District Judge Heaney sentenced Rodger to a two month sentence suspended for 12 months.
