Prior attempt was made to kill detective

A PRIOR attempt was made to kill senior PSNI detective John Caldwell, the High Court has heard.

Prosecutors said it is believed an attack was initially planned for three weeks before the off-duty policeman was shot in Omagh..

On Wednesday at the High Court details emerged during an appeal against a magistrate granting bail to one of eight men charged with his attempted murder on February 22 last year.

Alan McFarland, 48, of Deverney Park in Omagh, was allegedly involved in the acquisition of one of the cars used in the assassination plot.

McFarland would also have been aware the victim regularly attended sports facilities where the attack was carried out, a judge heard.

Detective Chief Inspector Caldwell was shot and seriously wounded in front of his son just after he finished coaching a youth football team.

Two men dressed in dark waterproof clothing approached him at the rear of his car and opened fire, striking him several times.

The gunmen made their getaway in a Ford Fiesta, fitted with false number plates and which was discovered burnt out later that night, before switching to a Mercedes car.

Although the New IRA claimed responsibility for the shooting, detectives believe other criminal factions joined forces with the dissident republican grouping to target someone regarded as their joint enemy.

The court heard it was a well-planned, coordinated effort to murder a senior police officer which only failed by sheer good fortune.

In court on Wednesday prosecution counsel disclosed, “It is believed now that there was an earlier attempt on DCI Caldwell on February 1.”

No further details about the previous incident were provided.

The court heard McFarland was present at an auction house in Ballyclare, Co Antrim on February 8 when the Ford Fiesta was purchased by another suspect.

During the auction event he received a phone call from 33-year-old co-accused Matthew McClean, from Glenpark Road in Omagh.

Days later McClean allegedly bought the ringer number plates which were fitted to the car.

Another part of a circumstantial case against McFarland relates to forensic swabs taken when he was initially arrested on the day after the shooting.

Particles characteristic of Cartridge Discharge Residue were found on his hand and jacket pocket.

Mr Justice O’Hara was also told there is information that he knew about DCI Caldwell’s regular movements – in particular the night he attended the Youth Sports complex where the shooting took place.

“All of these circumstances, added together, lead to the inevitable conclusion that Mr McFarland was involved in this attack on DCI Caldwell,” the prosecutor submitted.

Defence counsel confirmed McFarland denies any role in the murder bid.

He argued that the accused had given police access to his phone and provided a statement disavowing any association with dissident terrorists.

“This man, because of his family background and experience, has no truck at all with the ideology of violent republicanism,” the barrister stressed.

With McFarland previously questioned and released as part of the investigation, it was contended that his presence when the Fiesta was purchased “tipped the balance” in the subsequent decision to charge him.

But the court heard he regularly attended those car sales, had a long-term friendship with McClean based on their shared interest in cars, and that the pair had been in phone contact up to 1,200 times in the previous four months.

Counsel argued that the only new evidence raised during McFarland’s second set of police interviews related to the auctions in Ballyclare.

“Given recent developments it has been diluted significantly, if not washed away altogether,” he claimed.

Reserving judgment in the prosecution’s appeal against McFarland obtaining bail, Mr Justice O’Hara indicated he will give a ruling within days.