Belfast man accused of hijacking Amazon delivery driver must remain in custody

Aidan Magennis, of Broom Close, Dunmurry has been in custody since the start of this year charged with robbery and possessing a knife.

A prosecution barrister told the High Court today (Monday) that at 4 pm on Friday, January 6, 2023, an Amazon delivery driver was in Broom Park in the Dunmurry area. He had just returned to his work van and noticed from his wing mirror a male approaching from the side.

"The unknown male jumped into the passenger seat and held a knife to the victim's face screaming four or five times to 'get the f*** out' of the vehicle,'' the Crown lawyer told Mr Justice O'Hara.

"The victim, who was in fear, described this unknown male as 'off his head on drugs due to his erratic behaviour'. He heard other male voices coming from outside the van, grabbed the keys and ran to a nearby shop to alert police.

"When he returned to the vehicle he noted a number of items had been stolen from the van.''

The prosecutor said two local residents told police of seeing three males in the area at the time going past their addresses "with parcels in their hands'' and heading in the direction of Broom Close.

A police foot patrol in the area later identified three males matching the descriptions from witnesses at a house in Broom Close."On seeing police the males ran into the property and police followed them inside and found Amazon parcels but no one was inside. Police walked past the next door property and saw three males in the living room,'' said the prosecution lawyer.

"This householder, who is this applicant's father, told police that the three males had only come into the property through the back door just a few minutes before. The three males were arrested.''The court heard at the time of the hijacking, Magennis had 110 previous convictions, he was on bail and in breach of a suspended sentence.

The lawyer said bail was opposed by police due to the risk of further offending and the proposed bail address of his father's home was close to where a number of witnesses lived.He added that the papers had now been prepared for a committal hearing and the case was due to be reviewed next week at Lisburn Magistrates' Court.

Defence barrister Peter Coiley said that "our hands are very much tied'' over the proposed bail address until another one came on stream in the future.

"His father has offered his home as the bail address at the same time he did his civic duty and was helpful to police,'' said Mr Coiley.He told the court that the bail application was based on the delay in the case and the defendant has been in custody for ten months on foot of the charges he faces.

"Our concern is that there is an inexplicable delay in the case which on the face of it seems very straightforward. There is an uneasiness about the delay in this case and it is going to be at least after Christmas before there is any trial.

"So we say he is a suitable candidate for bail even though his criminal record does him no credit,'' added Mr Coiley.

Mr Justice O'Hara ruled: "I am going to refuse the bail application on this occasion based on his criminal record, he was in breach of a suspended sentence and he was bail at the time.

"But we are very close to the point where all those good reasons for refusing bail cannot withstand scrutiny by the judiciary because the case is not being progressed fast enough.''

The senior judge added: "I want the PPS (Public Prosecution Service) to understand that on November 6 they are going to have to indicate to the district judge when the preliminary enquiry will take place.''