Suspected New IRA members joined forces with other criminals in Caldwell murder bid, High Court told
Suspected New IRA members joined forces with other criminals for a meticulously planned attempt to murder one of Northern Ireland’s top detectives regarded as their “common enemy”, the High Court heard today.
Prosecutors also claimed the gunmen were so determined to kill Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell at sports facilities in Omagh, Co Tyrone where he coached a youth football team that they waited there for over 90 minutes due to a change in time of the regular session.
Details emerged as bail was refused to a pensioner accused of being part of the clean-up operation after DCI Caldwell was shot repeatedly in front of his son on February 22 this year.
James Ivor McClean, 72, of Deverney Park in Omagh, is among seven men charged with the attempted murder.
The attack, for which dissident republican grouping the New IRA has claimed responsibility, was carried out at around 8pm, just after the football practice finished.
Two men dressed in dark waterproof clothing approached the victim at the rear of his car and opened fire, striking him several times, the court heard.
The gunmen made their getaway in a Ford Fiesta driven by an accomplice.
DCI Caldwell was seriously wounded and spent nearly two months recovering in hospital.
In an investigation on an unprecedented scale, police have trawled through 400,000 hours of CCTV recordings, examined mobile phone data, used vehicle registration number plate technology and obtained eye-witness testimony in an attempt to bring those responsible to justice.
Based on footage from the sports centre, a Crown lawyer submitted that the Fiesta had been there since 6.21pm on the evening of the shooting.
It was then sighted “doing loops” of the complex amid claims those inside may not have known that the time slot for the coaching session had been moved.
“The individuals who carried out this attack were so determined, regardless of the time change of around one and a half hours and multiple people including children being in the area, that they continued with their objective,” prosecution counsel said.
The car left the scene at speed following the shooting and was found burnt out in another part of the town.
It had been purchased nearly two weeks previously and then fitted with fake “ringer” number plates as part of preparations for the assassination bid, the court heard.
Detectives also believe the Fiesta travelled in a convoy with a black Mercedes in the Omagh area earlier on the day of the shooting.
Less than 15 minutes after the attack, a similar coloured Mercedes was seen on footage arriving at James McLean’s home, according to the prosecution.
An unidentified witness claimed it came to a “screeching halt” in the driveway before two men wearing waterproof suits got out and ran round the side of the house towards a back garden.
The Mercedes was said to have left the address a short time later, followed immediately by a white transit van.
Based on an alleged recognition by the witness, counsel contended that James McClean was driving the van.
“All of these individuals were acting together with a common goal, and Mr McLean’s part in this operation was to assist and take part in the clean-up operation in the immediate aftermath of the shooting,” she argued.
“After this meticulously planned attack on DCI Caldwell a number of individuals immediately go at speed to this applicant’s address.”
It was alleged that the van travelled to the home of a co-accused before returning to Deverney Park later that night.
Mr Justice O’Hara was told significant information was obtained from CCTV cameras installed at another address on the same street, despite an apparent attempt to delete footage from the hard drive.
During the hearing it emerged that James McClean was initially arrested at his home three days after the attack.
A mobile phone he allegedly threw into a neighbour’s garden was seized, but no PIN codes were provided.
“In one of the bedrooms there was about £10,000 in cash secreted in a wall cavity,” the prosecutor disclosed.
Although the guns involved in the attack have not been recovered, investigations have revealed that one of the weapons was previously used to carry out two separate shootings on properties.
Opposing McClean’s application for bail, counsel claimed those who targeted DCI Caldwell have the connections and resources to engage in high-level criminality.
“Not all of those involved are suspected to be members of the New IRA,” she added.
“It’s the prosecution case that a number of them, including this applicant, were part of their own criminal fraternity who came together with the New IRA against what they perceived to be a common enemy.
“DCI Caldwell has (led) a number of major investigations into those charged and their associates.”
Asked if police believe the alleged gunmen were among those currently charged, she replied: “I can’t say that at the moment.”
McClean’s barrister, Michael Ward, stressed that he emphatically denies the attempted murder.
“It is his case that he played no role whatsoever in the attack on DCI Caldwell,” Mr Ward submitted.
He claimed his client faced a weak case, based only on an unreliable and mistaken witness who described seeing an overweight man aged in his sixties driving the white van.
“Mr McLean does not have a belly of any kind; in fact he’s a rather frail man,” Mr Ward insisted.
“That is the only portion of tenuous evidence to link this applicant to the charge against him.”
But Mr Justice O’Hara held that the case against McLean was strengthened by the witness claiming to have recognised him.
Denying bail, the judge cited the risks of re-offending and interference with the ongoing investigation.
He said: “The whole context of this case, as outlined to me, shows a degree of organisation, experience and determination to kill Detective Chief Inspector Caldwell, which fits in with people who have experience over a number of years in committing serious criminal offences.”
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