Court told how Portadown riot accused was identified from Youtube footage

Appearing in the dock of Lisburn Magistrates Court, 32-year-old Ryan Pepper confirmed his identity and that he understood the single charge against him.

Pepper, from the Westland Road in Portadown, faces one charge of riot alleged to have been committed on 12 June this year.

During a contested application for bail, a police officer gave evidence that on Saturday, investigators received social media footage which had been uploaded to a YouTube account, containing footage recorded of serious public disorder in Portadown.

In that footage, he told the court, a male can be seen “approaching police lines and throwing an item.”

Initially, the male has the lower half of his face covered but as the footage continues, around a minute later the same male turns to face the camera and with his face visible, police say they have identified that person as Pepper.

He was arrested yesterday Monday and during police interviews, he denied the allegations.

Citing Pepper’s “very considerable record,” the officer said police were objecting to bail due to the risk of further offending and also that in the face of serious and ongoing public disorder, “police believe that it's important to send a strong message to deter persons from getting involved in serious disorder.”

“Police believe that if a strong deterrent message is not sent, the public disorder could lead to death or serious injury to members of the public, particularly foreign nationals,” said the officer.

Having perused the record, District Judge Rosie Watters revealed that Pepper’s last court appearance was the day after he was allegedly involved in the riot.

She further revealed that Pepper has more than 20 convictions for public disorder so despite submissions from defence solicitor Philip Reid the 32-year-old could be granted bail to live with his mum, the judge refused.

“When something like this happens, his mother should be locking the doors and hiding the keys,” she told the lawyer.

“I assume that all these people charged with riot will be dealt with in the Crown Court,” Judge Watters told the court, highlighting that the majority of people who come to NI “are working and are being useful members of our society.”

“Some have arrived here from horrible situations in other countries and we, as a country, are protecting them and we have to protect them as well, from some elements in our society,” Judge Watters concluded.

Pepper was remanded into custody and will appear again on 27 June by video link.