Man accused of possessing knife outside Omagh school refused bail

A MAN accused of having a knife in his possession outside an Omagh school on Monday morning has been remanded in custody.

Martin McGovern (41), of James Street, was refused bail when he appeared at Omagh Magistrates Court this morning.

He is charged with possessing an offensive weapon in public as well as possession of cannabis and suspected Class C drugs.

The court heard that McGovern, who has more than 70 previous convictions, was on police bail for committing a similar alleged offence in Omagh town centre in August.

A detective told the court that, at 8.35am yesterday morning, witnesses reported that a tall, thin man was holding a knife outside the Christian Brothers Grammar School on the Kevlin Road.

Officers arrived and took three witness statements, later locating the suspect at St Patrick’s Terrace and arresting him.

Upon arrest, no knife was found on the defendant, but a small quantity of cannabis was seized.

Police later searched McGovern’s address at James Street, locating knives and ‘yellow tablets’.

The detective told the court that police were objecting to bail because the alleged offence was committed while the defendant was on police bail for a similar alleged incident in August of this year.

He said that the August incident, involving the defendant and three knives, took place on High Street.

The police were concerned due to the close proximity between the two alleged offences, the court heard.

It was further noted that the defendant had 71 prior convictions, eight for burglary, six for drug offences and one previous for possession of an offensive weapon.

Defence counsel Joe McCann accepted the police concerns but noted that the alleged incident in August was not before the court at this stage.

In reference to McGovern’s criminal record, which Mr McCann described as ‘lengthy’ he noted that nothing of this nature had occurred in around 15 years.

He added that the defendant struggled with substance issues along with mental health, but suggested that he could be released on stringent bail conditions.

District Judge Ted Magill took into consideration about Mr McCann’s references to the defendant’s record, but said that the alleged incident was ‘very worrying’.

Stating that he believed McGovern was not a ‘safe candidate’ for bail, Judge Magill remanded the 41-year-old in to custody to appear by videolink to Omagh Magistrates Court on December 17.