Customer threatened to behead taxi dispatcher, ISIS-style, court told

Prosecutors claimed the man has been left in “extreme fear” after being targeted by 33-year-old Michael Coyle on three separate occasions.

Coyle, of Virginia Court in the Gobnascale area of Londonderry, is charged with threats to kill, possession of a bladed article and an offensive weapon in public, and intimidating a witness.

During a failed application for bail it was alleged that he first threatened the taxi worker with a knife and spanner on Christmas Day.

Prosecution counsel said the defendant went into a depot close to his home, produced the blade and started acting aggressively towards him.

“He said, ‘I will slice you, I’m just like ISIS, I will behead you’,” the barrister claimed.

Coyle then allegedly made slashing motions with the knife before taking out the spanner and telling the man he was going to “smash” and beat him with it.

Two days later the accused phoned the depot to apologise and ask if the dispatcher was going to retract his statement, a judge was told.

But it was claimed he also wanted to know if the alleged victim was a police informer.

“He then made threats to the complainant to cut off his head in front of everyone,” the barrister added.

Further threats were issued along with what the complainant believed was an attempt to get him to drop the case, the court heard.

The accused, a former bricklayer, denies making threats. He also claimed to have little memory of the incidents because he had been drinking.

Refusing bail, His Honour Judge Lynch pointed to the persistence of the alleged behaviour.

He said: “My primary concern has to be in relation to the injured party in this case being subjected to threats on three separate occasions at the hands of this man.”