Craigavon drug addict threatened his landlord that he would ‘have the boys come and do him in’
A Co Armagh man, who threatened his landlord to have the ‘boys come and do him in’, has been given a suspended jail sentence.
Caolan Murray, aged 32, with an address at Willowfield Crescent, Craigavon, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court on Friday.
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Murray previously denied a charge of assaulting a man on January 16 this year but his barrister Mr John Paul McCann said the defendant now pleaded guilty.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan said Murray now has “the good sense” to plead guilty “albeit late in the day”.
The court heard the injured party called police saying that at around 3pm he had called at one of his properties, at Richmount Gardens, Lurgan, to conduct work there.
He was met by the tenant, the defendant, who “had put his face” into the landlord “shouting and swearing”. Murray shouted at the injured party claiming he had “woken him up from his sick bed” and “threatening to do him in” and “have the boys come and do him in”.
The prosecutor said this caused the injured party “fear of immediate unlawful violence”. When police arrived the defendant wasn’t there, however they found him a short time later coming from the back of the property “on the phone to his mother”.
He was arrested and gave a “no comment” interview.
Mr McCann said his client has a record but “appears to have been out of trouble since 2021”.
He pointed out that his client has pleaded guilty so the injured party didn’t have to give evidence. “He is entitled to credit for that,” said the barrister. “It was a technical common assault and no physicality was involved.”
Mr McCann said his client has “some personal difficulties”.
"He suffers from a drug addiction and I am told he is enrolled to start a programme in Cuan Mhuire and that is hopefully going to be starting soon.
"He tells me he tragically lost his brother in November last year so he was going through a very tough time. When this offence was committed he was under extreme pressure,” said the barrister, asking for leniency under the circumstances.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan told the defendant: “You are lucky you weren’t charged with something more serious.”
He sentenced Murray to three months in jail suspended for 12 months.