Strabane man claimed he was using bullets to make jewellery

A STRABANE man charged with possessing bullets in suspicious circumstances has told police he was using the ammunition to make jewellery, a court has heard.

Rory Barr, 31, who had been remanded in Maghaberry Prison, was granted bail at Strabane Magistrates Court. The case stems from a search of his former home, where he lived with his mother.

The court heard that, on August 24, police were called after Barr’s mother revoked his permission to live at the address, where he was staying on bail for an alleged laptop-related offence in Coleraine. She told officers that days earlier, Barr had shown her a ‘box of bullets’.

A search of the house uncovered a box of ammunition, drill bits, and a drill press in a spare bedroom. Barr was arrested and initially gave no comment during police questioning. He later explained the ammunition had been purchased to create jewellery and keychains, providing the website from which he bought them and claiming the rounds were spent or duds.

A police detective opposed bail, citing fears of further offences and lack of a suitable address.

Defence counsel Dean Mooney noted Barr had faced a similar investigation last year, when black powder and small bullets were found but later deemed non-suspicious. Mr Mooney added the ammunition was ‘purchased legitimately’ and suggested there was a real possibility the case would not proceed to prosecution.

District Judge Alana McSorley said there was ‘a lot’ of evidence supporting Barr’s presumption of innocence. Barr was granted bail on the condition of an address approved by police, a curfew, a ban on entering his mother’s home, and submitting to drug testing.