Defendant told to ‘say nothing and stay away’

There was a sitting of Longford Circuit Court last week.

Twenty three year old John McMullan, Turmoyra Court, Lurgan, was fined £250 for the offence.

The court heard that at 2.05am police were dealing with an incident involving a group of males at the junction of William Street and Brownlow Terrace.

The defendant, who was not involved in the original incident, started  shouting and swearing. He said ‘don’t f—king speak to the police’ before being told to go away.

McMullan, who smelled of intoxicating liquor and was unsteady on his feet, continued to shout abusive language at police.

He walked away  slowly but continued to be abusive. He was cautioned and said: “Why?”

Mr Conor Downey, representing the defendant, said McMullan was successfully completing a community service order and cut down on his alcohol intake.

District Judge, Mr Mervyn Bates, noted that McMullan had progressed well with community service.

But he told him he should stay out of other people’s arguments. All he had to do was say nothing and stay away.