Man sentenced for threatening to petrol bomb fire station

A DUNGANNON man who threatened to throw a petrol bomb into the Northern Ireland Fire Service station in the town has received a six month prison sentence.

Martin Groogan (39) of Gortin Crescent had the sentence suspended for three years when he appeared at the town’s Magistrates Court. He was charged with making a threat to damage property and with criminal damage to a Covid-19 sign in a nearby restaurant.

A Public Prosecutor told the court that the incident arose shortly before 11pm on July 14 last year

Fire service personnel were in the station at the time and Groogan made off on foot subsequently.

The PSNI also received a report of a male, who was Groogan, damaging the Covid-screen in the nearby restaurant.

A defence solicitor said that at the time Groogan was heavily intoxicated.

The court was told that there had been a verbal altercation involving Groogan in the restaurant and that his partner had taken him outside.

The court heard that when he made the threat to petrol bomb the fire station, there were fire officers in the property who had just returned from a call, but that Groogan had ‘great difficulty’ remembering anything of what had happened.

The solicitor said that Groogan now had a choice between returning out through the front door of the court or taking the one which led to prison.

Imposing the suspended sentence, the District Judge said that Groogan’s behaviour had passed the custody threshold. He added that his behaviour was ‘very, very poor’ especially in relation to the incident at the fire station.