Arrest warrant issued for Maghera man who held knife to woman's neck and threatened to kill her
An arrest warrant has been issued for a man who was convicted of holding a knife at a woman's neck threatening, "I will kill you, you Fenian b*****d".
Jason Ian Milligan, aged 28, from Crewe Road, Maghera, failed to turn up at Magherafelt Magistrates Court to contest charges of making a threat to kill and common assault.
District Judge Oonagh Mullan convicted him "on the papers" in his absence and issued a bench warrant for his detention.
A co-accused, Ciara Kennedy (26), whose address was given as Union Road, Magherafelt, was convicted of making a death threat, common assault of a female, as well as unlawfully possessing cannabis and pregabalin.
The judge adjourned her case until April 9 for a pre-sentence report.
The court heard that Kennedy's mother had gone to her flat on August 25, 2023, as the defendant had been intoxicated at work and taking drugs.
Prosecuting counsel said that Ciara Kennedy had a serrated bread knife and threatened to kill the injured party before Milligan, who was also in the flat, grabbed it from her and held it to her neck threatening, "I will kill you, you Fenian b*****d".
The lawyer said that before police arrived Milligan had jumped out of the ground floor balcony of the flat and ran off.
He said police carried out a searched and found three Pregabalin tablets and two or three grams of cannabis.
Continuing, he said police returned to the flat the next day and spoke to Kennedy and Milligan, who was then Kennedy’s partner, and they both denied the allegations.
During police interviews, Kennedy made no comment and Milligan denied the allegations.
A defence lawyer said Kennedy would not be giving evidence.
A lawyer for Milligan said he had not attended court.
Adjourning the case for a pre-sentence report, Judge Mullan remarked that Kennedy “having drugs onboard” may have been a contributing factor in this matter.
She said she wanted to know more about the background to the defendant and told her to work with the Probation Service.
The judge said Probation would help her move on from this and prevent her re-offending in the future.