Man charged in connection with Caldwell shooting refused bail

A MAN accused of transporting a car used in the plot to assassinate DCI John Caldwell in Omagh last year must remain in custody after he was refused bail today (Thursday).

Eight men are currently charged with attempting to murder the off-duty PSNI officer, who was shot on February 22 last year as he coached a youth football team at a sports facility on the outskirts of Omagh.

Three other defendants, including James Gerard McSorley (58), of Chichester Mews, Belfast, are accused of preparing for acts of terrorism.

A fresh bail application made on behalf of McSorley was rejected at Strabane Magistrates Court.

Detectives believe three cars were used in the operation, including a second Ford Fiesta transported to Omagh for an unattributed role in the build-up to the shooting.

It has been alleged that McSorley drove one of the vehicles from Belfast to Tamnamore Roundabout, near Dungannon on the day the senior officer was shot.

He is charged with possessing articles for use in terrorism, preparation of terrorist acts and providing money/property for the purpose of terrorism.

The defendant was previously denied at the High Court in Belfast in December due to the court believing there is a high likelihood he might re-offend.

Today’s bail application was made two days after the case against the Caldwell accused was reviewed at Omagh Magistrates Court.

At the earlier hearing, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said that a timeline was ‘not feasible’ in light of the arrest of one of the other defendants, Alan Lundy, in February, which had caused delays in the investigation.

They added that the Lundy file is projected to be complete by the end of May, at which time a decision could be taken in the prosecution of all accused. The file for the Caldwell case, which was initially 6,000 pages, has also risen to over 17,000 pages.

A solicitor acting on behalf of McSorley told the court they believed that this would lead to ‘significant delays’ in the scheduling of their client’s trial.

This was denied by the PPS, who stated that a decision in the case against McSorley would not have been made yet, even with the arrest of Lundy and the changes to the file.

Refusing McSorley’s application, Deputy District Judge Kennedy believed that circumstances had not changed enough to warrant bail at this time.

McSorley was remanded in custody and is due to appear before Omagh Magistrates Court again on April 23.