North Down feud: Four men in court after incidents in Ards and north Down

The men face charges including common assault, affray and disorderly behaviour over events in Donaghadee and Newtownards on Friday March 31.

They were also charged in relation to an attack on a man in Ards Shopping Centre on the same day, although a detective constable said that incident is no longer believed to be part of the feud, but came about when the men visited a sports shop to buy face coverings and met a person they had a grievance with.

A detective constable told Downpatrick Magistrates' Court: "We believe that the guys have made their way to Ards Shopping Centre, maybe possibly having ditched masks that they were wearing in Donaghadee.

"We believe they went into JD Sports and possibly purchased other masks, and at that time coincidentally came across the injured party, and that's when that incident has occurred.

"I'm not aware if it was a scarf, a snood or what exactly type of face covering it was. A mask to me would be any sort of face covering that covers their face, whether it is a balaclava or a face mask or a scarf.

"It's our belief that they've gone to the shopping centre and possibly purchased other masks because of the ongoing feud. We know the ongoing feud, anyone involved in that, the first thing they're going to do is try and disguise their identity."

Ryan Lee Johnston, 29, Curtis Johnston, 24, and Karl O'Neill, 38, with addresses in the North Down area, and Colin Adair, 36, with an address in Belfast, appeared before the court on Monday by video-link from Laganside in Belfast.

Ryan Johnston, Curtis Johnston and O'Neill are charged with the assault of a man, who was named in court, at Ards Shopping Centre, as well as affray, disorderly behaviour, making threats to kill a person, also named in court, at Weavers Grange, and affray in Donaghadee.

Adair is charged with affray and disorderly behaviour at the shopping centre, threats to kill at Weavers Grange, and affray in Donaghadee.

They all said they understood the charges.

A detective constable said she believes she can connect the accused to the charges.

She was questioned by a legal representative for the defendants around footage of the first incident, which was in Donaghadee.

She said that, at around 2.30pm, it showed a black BMW X5 driving into the rear of Ashfield Drive.

"There is a number of males in the vehicle which looks like they're aggressive in their manner," she said. "It appears they are shouting.

"One of the males gets out of the back driver's side of the car; he has a mask and a hood up. It looks like someone says something and he gets back in, but the person in the passenger seat and the rear passenger seat are quite clearly shouting and look aggressive in their manner."

She added that police have a statement from an alleged victim reporting that they heard shouts and threats they believed were directed at them.

"They were shouting 'You're a dead man' and 'we're going to rip your head off', and 'You're a dead man walking'. This was also overheard by a neighbour."

She said the vehicle left, and around half an hour later police stopped the same males in Weavers Grange in Newtownards, an area where she said there is an ongoing feud.

"Police body-worn cameras show the same people, some of whom at the time you can see are in the vehicle, and some are out of the vehicle," she said.

"In the car you can see Colin Adair driving, and the vehicle is registered to Colin Adair. You see Ryan Johnston in the passenger seat, you see Curtis Johnston sitting directly behind him, and at another point they're out of the vehicle and you can see them all quite clearly."

She said CCTV from Ards Shopping Centre shows the same men.

"There seems to be words exchanged with the injured party ... they sort of walk up the shopping centre and then gather pace, and you can see members of the public clearly lifting children out of the way and moving into the doorway and out of the way of these men, and then they chase him.

"They get him, I believe, near one of the exits. Ryan Johnston throws a punch which lands with the injured party and Curtis Johnston kicks out, and there are words exchanged.

"They then make their way through the shopping centre, and again people are making way for them ... The call has come through to police. They are seen followed by the security of the shopping centre out into the black BMW ... police follow them up Kempe Stones Road."

The car was stopped there and the men arrested.

A legal representative for the four accused argued against the affray charges.

District Judge Amanda Brady said she is not assessing the evidence at this stage, but taking oral evidence on oath from a police officer over connection issues, "as is done in every other case".

"I am satisfied on her evidence on oath that there is sufficient evidence to connect all four to the charges that they face, so they're all connected," she said.

The detective constable objected to bail, saying the incidents in Donaghadee and Weavers Grange are believed to be connected with the ongoing feud in the Ards and North Down area, and that police fear a risk of further offending, risk of flight and concerns for their safety.

She said three of the men have received threats, and there is a risk of the fourth also being threatened.

District Judge Brady refused bail for all four men, saying there is an ongoing feud, and there is a risk of reoffending,

The case is to be heard next on Thursday at Ards Magistrates' Court.