This man hit his own granny, attacked police and is likely to re-offend: but is OUT ON BAIL
Editorial Department • Published 9 Feb 2012 13:30
A dissident republican terrorist supporter who carried out several attacks on police has been jailed for 10 months.
Jason Magerr (pictured), of Hillview Park, Enniskillen, also admitted carrying out an unprovoked attack on an elderly visitor to Enniskillen and even hitting his own grandmother. The 21-year-old thug was released on bail pending the outcome of an appeal against the jail sentence. As he left Enniskillen Courthouse he confronted a member of the public and a young schoolgirl.
The court heard there was a "high likelihood" he would commit further offences.
Outlining four separate violent incidents, a prosecutor told the court that at approximately 6pm on Friday the Thirteenth of May last year, police were called to an ongoing disturbance at Belmore Street in Enniskillen. They arrived as an elderly man was being put into an ambulance to be taken to the Erne Hospital. The man, who was a visitor to the area, had been assaulted. The officers found Magerr and another man sitting on the ground beside a nearby traffic island. Magerr was shouting loudly at members of public and the police, yelling: "Up the Real IRA. F--k the PSNI. You all deserve to be shot."
The court was told that Magerr was arrested and interviewed but made no comment.
The prosecutor explained that the attack on the elderly man was completely unprovoked. He had been subjected to taunts and then assaulted, suffering a three centimetre laceration just below his eyebrow and injuries to his cheek bone and mouth.
The court heard that a couple of weeks later, on Wednesday, June 1, just after 7pm, police received a report that a security guard at Dunnes Stores in Enniskillen had been assaulted. The officers were told that Magerr had been asked to leave the store after he opened two fire doors. As he was being escorted off the premises he hit the guard in the face, either with his fist or elbow. The guard suffered swelling and laceration to his lip and tenderness to his ear.
Again Magerr made no comment when interviewed by the police.
The prosecutor told the court that six weeks later, at 2.45am on Sunday, July 17, police on duty at The Diamond in Enniskillen saw Magerr punch a man in the face. When the officers approached him, he ran off. When they caught up with him he punched one of them in the face and spat on another, shouting: "Up the 'RA. I hope the 'RA blows up your ma, you black bastards."
Turning to the fourth and final incident, the prosecutor described how, at 6am on Boxing Day, police were called to Magerr's grandmother's house at Hillview Park in Enniskillen in response to a report that he was "going mad". His frightened grandmother invited the officers into the house where they found furniture overturned and items broken. Magerr told them: "What the f--k, I live here."
The prosecutor said Magerr then threw a bottle opener, hitting his grandmother in the stomach. He became aggressive towards the police as they tried to handcuff him. He was arrested and on the way to the police station spat on one of the officers. He told the police: "You're black c--ts. I support the dissidents. F--k you all. The dissidents are going to blow you up because they're afraid to shoot you."
The court heard that when Magerr was interviewed he said he could not remember anything about the incident.
Defence barrister, Mr. Stephen Mooney, asked District Judge Mervyn Bates to "focus on what is positive".
He said he had been told that since being released on bail on Boxing Day, Magerr had not come to the attention of the police, and albeit that was for only six weeks, it was "remarkable for him".
Urging the District Judge to consider an alternative to prison, such as a protracted deferral, Mr. Mooney pointed out that the court had limited powers in terms of how long a prison sentence it could impose. He said that if Magerr was sent to prison "the people of Enniskillen may be free and safe for a short time but it will be a short time".
The District Judge said he had read reports from the Community Mental Health Team, the Western Health Trust and Probation Board. What concerned him was the "high likelihood" that Magerr would re-offend, although he was not deemed to pose a "serious risk of serious harm".
He pointed out the Public Prosecution Service had chosen to charge Magerr with common assaults but some of the offences and injuries inflicted bordered on the more serious charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He noted that Magerr's previous engagement with the probation service had been "sporadic and superficial". He said Magerr had been given "every opportunity" and there was nothing to indicate that he was likely to abide by any alternative court order to prison as he had missed appointments and had not attended counselling.
The District Judge referred to Magerr's "very vitriolic" comments and the fact that the elderly man he assaulted was a visitor to the area.
He jailed him for 10 months and referred him back to the Crown Court for breaching a suspended jail sentence imposed there in April 2010.
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 09 Feb 12
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