Taser man accused of break-ins denied bail

Jackie Kirkwood (38) appeared at the High Court on Friday to seek bail after he was arrested by police, who were forced to use a taser gun to subdue him following the break ins on July 24.

It was claimed £10,000 worth of damage was caused to the houses before Kirkwood was arrested.

The defendant allegedly gained entry to the house of a mother with a disabled child on Tirowen Way by kicking in glass panels around the front door.

A prosecuting lawyer said the woman screamed at Kirkwood to leave after discovering him in her hallway.

He then allegedly went next door and broke into the home of a retired 74-year-old man who was away at the time.

When police arrived, they noticed Kirkwood had a knife with a six inch blade, the court heard.

The lawyer said an armed response unit was called to the scene as Kirkwood continued to throw items around the house.

Damaged

The accused remained inside during a two-hour operation which ended in his arrest.

“Essentially he destroys the inside of the property, smashing virtually every window in the house and damaging every room, throwing furniture out the windows,” the prosecutor said.

“He injured himself in the process, there was heavy blood staining to every single room. It’s estimated the damage caused is in the region of £10,000.”

The court was told police were set to enter the property, but instead detained Kirkwood as he tried to exit through an upstairs window.

He later claimed to have been at a party and had taken a white powdered substance believing it was cocaine.

Instead, he said the substance made him feel paranoid and fearing he was being chased.

A defence lawyer said Kirkwood thought he had been taking a Class A substance on the night in question.

“It transpired that he believes the drug was something entirely different and led to him behaving in an outrageous and bizarre way,” the barrister said.

He also questioned how it could be proven Kirkwood had any intention to steal from the houses.

“When in there he’s in such a deranged state that when police catch up with him he has to be tasered,” he said.

“Whatever he had consumed, he wasn’t in a position to behave rationally.”

Bail was denied based on the risk of re-offending.

“This is an absolutely hopeless application,” the judge said.