Lurgan man, who was sleeping in the back of his Audi A6, fought with police after they woke him up, Craigavon court hears
A Lurgan man, who fought with police after they woke him up in the back of his Audi, has been given a five-month suspended jail term.
Colin John David McKeever, aged 37, from Island Hill Manor, Lurgan, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court on Wednesday of last week to face a raft of charges.
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They included being in charge of a vehicle while unfit through drink/drugs, failing to provide a specimen of breath for a preliminary breath test, disorderly behaviour, three counts of assaulting police, two counts of criminal damage, a charge of resisting police and another charge of failing to provide a specimen for evidential purposes.
The court heard that on August 24 last year at 11.20pm police received a report of a man outside an address at Rectory Park in Lurgan and he appeared drunk. Police found him in the back of an Audi A6, noting it was a keyless start vehicle.
The defendant was “argumentative and extremely intoxicated”. Police asked him to stay in the vehicle until they were ready to do a preliminary breath test. He exited the vehicle and when police spoke with him he pushed an officer as he attempted to apply handcuffs.
"He lashed out, began to headbutt, punch and struggle with police. During the struggle he knocked an officer’s body-worn camera off his body armour and managed to pull his duty belt off which contained a firearm and PAVA spray. He caused a large abrasion on that officer’s right elbow.
"He shouted loudly calling police ‘black c**ts’ and other words,” said the Prosecutor, adding another officer’s radio ear piece plus the key chain to his lanyard were broken and the officer was punched a number of times.
After he was arrested and brought to the police van the defendant headbutted another officer to his right shoulder. He refused to carry out a preliminary breath test.
"As he was being conveyed to custody, he forcibly blew blood out of his nose and covered the cell van. He was advised to refrain from doing this but continued which rendered the cell van unusable as it required a deep clean,” said the Prosecutor, adding McKeever failed to provide an evidential sample while in custody.
McKeever’s barrister Mr Shea Glasgow said his client had no intention of driving on the night in question and was awoken by police while he was asleep in the back seat of the vehicle.
He accepts the assaults on police were serious particularly the officer’s belt coming off. “He had no intention of using the belt or any items attached to the belt for any nefarious purpose. It was pulled off in the general melee,” he said, adding it could have been "very serious” given the officer’s gun was attached.
"Every party is no doubt thankful it didn’t crystallise into anything more serious,” he said.
District Judge Laura Levers sentenced McKeever to five months in jail suspended for two years for each of the disorderly behaviour, assaults on police, criminal damage and resisting police charges all to run concurrently.
For the being in charge of a vehicle and failing to provide charges he was given a one-month jail term also suspended for two years and concurrent to the previous sentence. He was also banned from driving for six months.