AN ENNISKILLEN man has appeared in court to face several charges, including assault on police.

Thomas Henry McCaffrey (51), of Market Street in the town, appeared before District Judge Steven Keown on Monday on charges of handling stolen goods related to an incident on August 18, 2020, and disorderly behaviour, resisting police and three counts of assault on police around an incident on May 13.

On August 18 last, Timoney Tiles reported a theft to police of £324.60 for tiles.

Enquiries caused police to identify the defendant as involved. When police spoke to McCaffrey, his solicitor read out a pre-prepared statement.

It said he was paid to collect the tiles by a third party who was not named.

The order was made with a credit card attached to an address close to where McCaffrey lived at the time on the Cornagrade Road.

McCaffrey attended to collect the tiles but then the payment came back as it was unauthorised.

On May 13, police attended an incident on Market Street and when they arrived McCaffrey was intoxicated and claimed a Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) employee was inside his house taking photos. The employee said he was in the communal area taking photos.

McCaffrey then obstructed the vehicle from leaving until the police came.

Officers observed McCaffrey as being "extremely intoxicated" and slurring his words making the allegations against the NIHE employee. He began swearing and shouting at officers and the employee.

McCaffrey then got into a police car and when asked to get out he became aggressive. While waiting on the cell van, he tried to pull the arm hair of one of the officers, and fell to the ground deliberately when asked to go into the cell van. He also kicked an officer in the shin.

Ciaran Roddy, McCaffrey's barrister, referring to the handling of stolen goods, pointed out that there was little known of the offence other than there was fraud committed, and there was no suspicion of McCaffrey's involvement.

He said it was of little benefit for his client, who was given a small financial incentive to participate.

For the May 13 incident, Mr. Roddy told the court his client had been drinking at home that day when he saw the individual outside taking photos and phoned the police.

He added his client regrets his actions and his conduct was unacceptable. Mr. Roddy also pointed out that in recent years, McCaffrey's offending had "slowed down".

Disstrict Judge Steven Keown warned McCaffrey if his offending was to "speed up", he would end up in jail, before handing him a three-month sentence, suspended for two years.

He also ordered him to pay each of the officers he assaulted £100 each, and told him he needed to get "back on the straight and narrow" if he did not want to go back to prison.