Former Maghera man once jailed for manslaughter of man who died on Glenshane Pass of hypothermia is back in court accused of assault
A man once jailed for the manslaughter of a drunk man who died from hypothermia when he was put out of a car after being driven to the top of the Glenshane Pass on a cold February night has now appeared at court accused of assaulting a man and woman.
Dean Porter (57), formerly from Maghera but now of Broadway Avenue in Ballymena, faces two charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on April 23 this year.
A defence barrister said drink was a "feature" of the alleged incident on April 23.
Porter had bail refused and the case was adjourned to May 22.
He appeared at Ballymena Magistrates' Court on Thursday, April 25, which heard that he had a record including a conviction for manslaughter.
In 2010, Porter and another man were sentenced for the manslaughter of a 41-year-old man from Castledawson.
The three men had been drinking together on February 3, 2008, and the man had been driven to the Glenshane Pass by Porter and a co-defendant and he was put out of the car.
At the court in 2010, a judge said the defendants had been guilty of gross negligence by abandoning the man in a remote location when he was extremely drunk and not properly clothed to cope with the cold weather.
Mr Justice Hart said a post mortem had revealed no evidence of any serious assault on the man.
He said Porter's actions appeared to have been motivated by hostility and animosity towards the man.