Seven remanded in custody over Omagh shooting

SEVEN men charged in connection with the shooting of Detective Chief Inspector, John Caldwell, in Omagh on February 22 last have been remanded in custody.

Each of them appeared at a special sitting of Dungannon Magistrates Court via Videolink from Musgrave police station in Belfast.

James Ivor McLean (72) and his son Robert McLean (29) both of Deverney Park in Omagh are both charged with attempted murder.

Another son, Matthew McLean (33) from Glenview Park, and two others, Jonathan McGinty (28) from St Julian’s Downs in Omagh and Alan McFarland (47) from Deverney Park are charged with attempted murder and other offences.

Applications for bail were refused in the cases of James Ivor McLean (72) of Deverney Park in Omagh and Jonathan McGinty (28) of Julian’s Downs in Omagh.

Gavin Coyle (45) of Killybrack Mews in Omagh and Brian Carron (38) of Clairmount Drive in Coalisland are charged with attempting to murder Detective Chief Inspector, John Caldwell on February 22 last and with membership of the IRA.

Bail was refused in the case of Coyle, while a solicitor for Carron said he would be making a bail application at a later date.

A Chief Inspector from the PSNI told the court that they believed they could connect all of the accused to the charges.

He added that their evidence includes forensics, CCTV footage and witness statements

A Chief Inspector from the PSNI gave details of what they believed to be the circumstances leading up the shooting of DCI Caldwell at Youth Sport Omagh and in the immediate aftermath.

He said that on the evening of February 22, two Fiesta cars and a Mercedes vehicle were seen travelling on convoy on the Drumnakilly Road just outside Omagh at around 5.43 on that evening.

At around 6.30pm, DCI Caldwell was attending Youth Sport for a children’s football practice. He was there around half an hour early in order to set up cones in preparation for the session.

The first Fiesta is seen coming to the location at Youth Sport on four occasions prior to the attack.

The court was told that at around 8.02pm two gun men, who were weaing gloves and had their faces covered fired mulitple shots at DCI Caldwell.

A short time later at around 8.15pm, the PSNI received a report that a Ford Fiesta car was burning on the Racopla Road.

Also at 8.15pm a black Mercedes vehicle was identified as being driven into Deverney Park to the home of James Ivor McLean.

Two figures dressed in dark clothing were seen getting out of the vehicle and running to the rear of the property.

The court was told that it is the PSNI’s belief that they were participating in a ‘clean-up’ operation following the attack.

The police believe that a Mercedes, the Transit van and then the Audi leave Deverney Park in that sequence.

The van is driven to Glenpark, which is the home of Matthew McLean, enters the property and leaves again before returning to Deverney Park.

The Audi is driven to Smith Terrace in Drumquin, where the PSNI later uncover two sites of burning which they say appears to be fresh.

They also say that they have evidence that the second Ford Fiesta appeared in Ardboe about four hours after the shooting.

The ocucpant of the vehicle walk away by foot and the vehicle remains there overnight. It is then set alight at around 9pm on the night of February 23 in what was described as a ‘dramatic ignition.’

The court was told that the operation was ‘well-planned and resourced’ and that it was a ‘wide-ranging one conspiracy.’

DCI Caldwell was described as having been ‘gravely injured’ in the attack.

The PSNI Detective Inspector described how there was a ‘golden thread’ among the defendants and that DCI Caldwell had been subject to previous threats over a number of years.

All of the accused were remanded in custody to appear against at Omagh Magistrates Court via videlink on June 27.