A Belfast man has been remanded into custody accused of battering a couple with a hammer.
Shane Gibson (22) appeared at Belfast Magistrates Court where he confirmed he understood the charges against him, all alleged to have been committed in the early hours on Friday.
Gibson, with a proposed bail address at Dungoyne Park in east Belfast, faces charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, causing actual bodily harm, possessing a weapon, namely a hammer, making a threat to kill and improper use of a telecommunication network to send a menacing message.
Objecting to Gibson being granted bail, a detective constable told the court how police received a report from a male alleging that Gibson had been sending him menacing messages including an image of a large knife with the caption “I’m going to make pieces out of you.”
The male reported how he had earlier spotted two men outside his Bangor home and although they were both wearing ski masks, the upper cheeks were visible and he was allegedly able to identify Gibson as one of them due to his “distinctive” tattoos.
The men left without incident but just over an hour later, shortly before 3.40am, “police received a separate report of an ongoing incident” on the Skipperstone Road in Bangor.
When police arrived, the couple claimed that Gibson had attacked them with a hammer, striking them to the head, back and hands, leaving him with broken ribs and the woman with a broken hand.
Police investigations uncovered doorbell footage which allegedly shows Gibson leaving the property and the court heard the defendant himself rang police “to say that he was in McDonald’s” and that’s where he was arrested.
During police interviews, Gibson claimed that “he had been under pressure from the first complainant and others to join the UVF” and while he admitted sending the messages, he claimed the messages had been sent to him as threats.
He also accepted there had been a fight in the property and although he claimed he was acting in self defence, the detective said police were objecting to bail over concerns that Gibson’s recent behaviour had been “extremely erratic.”
He highlighted that police were concerned about witness interference and further offending should Gibson be granted bail.
Defence solicitor Joe Mulholland told the court that according to Gibson, messages threatening him “are on his Facebook messenger on his phone” and he was content for the police to have the PIN code to access the phone.
The officer agreed to the lawyer’s suggestion that the woman had been armed with the hammer and she had hit Gibson but the detective said that according to the female complainant, “she did that to get Gibson off her partner.”
“These are three friends, they were all drinking, all taking drugs,” Mr Mulholland revealed, adding that Gibson himself had one tooth knocked out and another one cracked during the incident.
Emphasising that Gibson “gave a full account” to police after he himself told police where he was, the lawyer claimed that he acted in self defence “trying to get out of that house as quickly as possible.”
“He could be managed on strict bail conditions such as staying out of Bangor,” Mr Mulholland argued.
District Judge Amanda Henderson disagreed, however.
Citing her concerns about further offending and witness interference, she refused bail and remanded Gibson into custody.
The case was adjourned to February 26.