Terrifying ordeal for Omagh couple outlined in court

A MAN has been remanded in custody after allegedly threatening an elderly Omagh couple with a ‘nailed bat’ before stealing and crashing their car.

Mark Loughrey (35), from Strabane, appeared before Omagh Magistrates Court this week to face a string of charges including aggravated vehicle taking, criminal damage, driving while disqualified, unfit driving, failing to provide a specimen, and multiple motoring offences.

A police detective told the court that on Sunday at around 6.30pm, police received a report from an elderly woman in Omagh.

She said that while she and her husband were caring for their five-year-old grandchild, a man entered their home wielding a stick embedded with nails and demanded their car keys.

He then stole their Kia Rio and fled the scene.

Later that evening, police spotted the stolen vehicle on the Drumnakilly Road and observed it striking a pedestrian island.

The car went briefly airborne before crashing onto a roundabout.

The driver fled on foot but was apprehended shortly after and identified as Loughrey.

Police recovered a phone and the suspected weapon from the vehicle.

When officers attempted to administer a breath test, Loughrey allegedly refused, spat at police, kicked the car door, and called police ‘black b*****ds’.

The court heard that just hours earlier, he had been released on bail in connection with a separate, significant theft.

However, he has not yet been charged in relation to that case.

Opposing bail, police cited a high risk of reoffending, noting Loughrey’s 119 previous convictions. In January, he had received a five-year driving ban and a five-month prison sentence.

Defence solicitor Cameron Faulkner said Loughrey denied being the driver and claimed there was no DNA or video evidence linking him to the scene.

He argued that police body-worn footage does not positively identify the defendant.

District Judge Ted Magill dismissed the bail application, pointing out that the alleged offences occurred just two days earlier and evidence would not yet be available. He also noted that officers saw Loughrey fleeing the vehicle.

Describing it as a ‘hopeless’ bail application, Judge Magill remanded Loughrey in custody until his next court appearance at Omagh Magistrates Court on August 19.