Co Antrim man denies internment parade riot charge

Stephen James Fox, 40, from Curran Lane in Larne, denies a single count of rioting on August 9 last year in north Belfast.

Outlining the Crown case against Fox at Belfast Crown Court, a prosecutor said trouble flared at the junction of Rosapenna Street and the Oldpark Road on the day an anti-internment parade took place.

Prosecutor Simon Jenkins said that police came under “sustained attack” at the junction, and that during the unrest, several officers were filming the street violence in a bid to gather evidence.

Fox – whose movements for a short period during the riot were recorded – was initially captured standing on the footpath. However, Mr Jenkins said it was the Crown’s case that Fox then walked on to the road towards the police where he “shoved and kicked out at police shields” before backing away.

The jury was told that after Fox was identified by police when the CCTV footage was examined, he was arrested on December 31 last year.

When Fox was shown the footage and asked whether or not the man on CCTV was him, he didn’t answer this question and made a ‘no comment’ response to all other questions asked.

At hearing.