Man charged with stealing £2,000 from pensioner

An alleged burglar has been remanded in custody accused of stealing nearly £2,000 from a 69-year-old man's home in east Belfast.
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Stewart Lundy, 24, is charged with breaking into the pensioner’s fold-type accommodation in the Finmore Court area on Tuesday night.

Lundy, of Mount Vernon Road in the city, appeared before Belfast Magistrates’ Court to face counts of burglary and possession of cannabis.

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He allegedly took £1,980 in cash and a mop from the man’s home.

Opposing bail, a police officer expressed concerns for the victim and a female witness she claimed has rebutted an alibi provided by Lundy.

The court was told that the accused has acknowledged blood found at the scene of the raid is probably his.

He has provided an explanation for its likely presence, according to a defence lawyer.

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The solicitor stressed that a sum of more than £100 in cash found on his client was in different bank notes to the money stolen.

He also questioned the reliability of the woman who allegedly refutes the accused’s alibi.

“Mr Lundy is at pains to say that witness was consuming alcohol on that day, and her recollection can only be wrong,” the lawyer added.

Refusing bail, however, District Judge Fiona Bagnall cited the potential risk of interference with the investigation.

She remanded Lundy in custody to appear again by video link on August 17.

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