Five months jail term for attack with hurl in Strabane

A LOCAL woman believed she and her child would be killed by a Strabane man who attacked the car they were in with a hurley bat.

Details of the terrifying attack were heard at Strabane Magistrate’s Court when Dennis McDermott (37) of Newtown Place, Town Parks was sentenced to five months in custody, suspended for one year. A 12 month restraining order for the assault was also imposed.

The court heard that on November 8, 2020 at around 8pm, McDermott came out of his home carrying a hurley bat and “within minutes” smashed the windows of a vehicle belonging to Orla Lindsay, who at the time was driving her friend Kelly Tighe to collect a takeaway with Tighe’s son in the back.

Kelly Tighe told the court she noticed a grey Mercedes belonging to McDermott and had got out of her vehicle to take a photograph of the registration plate due to an unrelated incident from the previous night.

She said McDermott then appeared carrying a hurley bat and began to smash the windows of the vehicle belonging to Orla Lindsay.

“Within seconds the car was smashed on top of us and he said he was going to kill us,” Kelly Tighe told the court.

She said glass from the shattered windows fell all around them and that she immediately tried to cover her son who was sitting in the back. “We were all screaming,” she said.

Kelly Tighe explained McDermott hit her with the weapon on the back of her arm, while blood was coming from Orla Lindsay’s head.

Kelly Tighe said McDermott continued to shout and use threatening language towards them until they drove off, making their way towards the town with broken windows.

The court heard Kelly Tighe was later arrested for criminal damage after McDermott made a report to police that she had damaged his vehicle which was located outside of his home.

When asked by the prosecution if she had been arrested for anything else such as possessing a Class C drug, Tighe replied, “No.”

Referring to Diazepam found by police in her handbag when in custody following her arrest, Tighe told the court, “The Diazepam was prescribed to me, I’m only after an operation and had to get 80 staples.”

She said she had taken Diazepam the night before and was “completely sober” when the incident took place.

When asked by the prosecution if she had smashed the window of Dennis McDermott’s Mercedes, Tighe replied, “I didn’t even know his window was smashed until after. I had no dealings with Dennis.”

Orla Lindsay also gave evidence of the events that caused her to allegedly receive a wound to the head as a result of being struck with he hurley bat by McDermott.

“He struck me three or four times and I have a scar on my head,” Orla Lindsay said. “I could hear Kelly and her son screaming. It was a bad experience. He said he was going to burn my mother’s house and called us scum.

“He went to get a sledge hammer only for my brother who appeared and saved our lives. Only he came, that sledge would of killed us.”

Treatment

Orla Lindsay told the court that she was in an ambulance and received treatment outside of her mother’s house, but when asked why she did not go to the hospital for treatment, she said, “I didn’t go because I was worried about the threats he made against my mother.”

Neither Kelly Tighe nor Orla Lindsay could provide the court with proof of their injuries. Orla Lindsay insisted Kelly Tighe had “nothing to do” with the damage caused to Dennis McDermott’s Mercedes.

Dennis McDermott explained that he was in Belfast before the incident and came back to Strabane that evening.

The court heard McDermott lifted his wife and on arrival back to their home, McDermott said he could hear his wife shouting “they’re outside” and he could see Kelly Tighe standing at his Mercedes.

“She was out of her head, she didn’t know where she was. She was that gone she couldn’t speak,” McDermott said.

The court heard McDermott “feared for his life” and stated that Kelly Tighe was standing at his grey Mercedes where she had smashed the back window in.

“When I went outside there were people coming at me, and one fired a wheel brace and bruised my arm.”

McDermott told the court he “made a charge” for one man who approached him with a knife shortly before police arrived. “I was in fear for my life so I made a charge and they ran away. I don’t want people near my house.

“They’re cowards and I knew they wouldn’t come at me.”

When asked about the allegations put forward against him by Kelly Tighe and Orla Lindsay, McDermott told the court, “The windows of that Audi were already gone when I went out. I don’t know why it had no windows, sure it was my wife and daughter who called the police in the first place.”

‘I Asked why?’

The defendant’s wife told the court, “I saw the red Audi pull up beside our house and panicked. I shouted up the stairs to Dennis, ‘they’re outside’ and locked my daughters in the bathroom and told them to phone the police.

“Kelly was roaring at Dennis and Orla’s brother Richard shouted ‘you are all dead’.

“I asked why? I didn’t know why he came to our house or why it was targeted. I then went up to see if the children were OK and when I returned there were about four or five of them.

“I phoned the police because I thought my house was under attack and I had to protect my family. They had a crow bar and chains.”

When asked by the prosecution if she found it unusual that Orla Lindsay’s car had no windows, Mrs McDermott stated, “Dennis wouldn’t lift his hand to any woman. Kelly was hysterical and acting like an absolute looney bin.”

Deputy District Judge John Connolly told the court that he found many issues surrounding the case, and while consistent question marks were found in some evidence, he found others parts credible.

Judge Connolly remarked that he would reduce the charges of actual bodily harm to common assault as he had not seen any pictures or evidence of the alleged injuries caused by McDermott towards Kelly Tighe or Orla Lindsay, but noted that Tighe’s son being present in the car brought the case to a “serious level”.

Judge Connolly found Dennis McDermott guilty and handed him five months in custody suspended for one year and also sanctioned McDermott to a 12 month restraining order.