A 30-year-old man who carried out a “particularly foul act” of criminal damage in a police cell has been refused bail at Fermanagh Magistrates Court.

The court heard that Leeroy McDonagh with an address of Carnmore Lodge, Enniskillen was arrested on August 17 after it was believed he had breached the curfew on his bail conditions on August 16 and 17.

Checks by security company G4S were not responded to by McDonagh and he also failed to appear when officers called at his door which led to his arrest at around 11pm last Saturday.

An officer knocked on his door and looked in through his flat window but could see nobody in the kitchen, lying on the bed or in the living room which had a light on.

Representation for McDonagh said that he denied the breaches of bail and that he was at his address.

Following his arrest, McDonagh was conveyed to Omagh Custody Suite where he defecated and smeared faeces on the cell wall and door before shouting expletives at the officers who responded which saw him charged with criminal damage.

An officer under oath told the court she was able to connect the defendant to the charges. The officer was objecting to bail as they feared that McDonagh, who has 71 previous convictions, was likely to re-offend and commit further breaches of his bail conditions.

During the hearing, McDonagh tried to speak from the dock on a number of occasions and asked at one stage to speak for himself before returning to the holding cells to have a discussion with his barrister.

When they returned, McDonagh’s barrister told the court that her client wanted to admit to the breach of bail and was deeply apologetic of the incident that followed saying if her client could go back in time and not act like that he would.

District Judge Paul Copeland told McDonagh that bail had been granted to him to keep him out of trouble and to adhere to the conditions but he had done neither on this occasion.

He said McDonagh was facing serious charges and bail was set to ensure he was answerable to them.

Judge Copeland added that the most recent charge of criminal damage was a “particularly foul act” and refused McDonagh bail on the grounds he was unlikely to comply with his bail conditions, remanding him in custody to Maghaberry Prison until he appears again on September 2.