£8,000 bill after man hurled tiles at public in rooftop stand-off, court told

A MAN hurled tiles at onlookers below during a rooftop standoff in Enniskillen which cost at least £8,000, the High Court has heard.

Part of the Co Fermanagh town’s centre had to be cordoned off for an entire evening as police spent more than seven hours trying to get Mark Sheridan down, a judge was told.

Prosecutors said that an estimated £3,800 worth of damage was caused to property, while the bill for diverting emergency ser- vices to the scene ran to another £4,140.

Further loss of revenue to businesses in the Belmore Street area during the incident in June has still to be confirmed.

Sheridan (22), of Ann Street in Enniskillen, faces charges of criminal damage, disorderly behaviour, and possessing an offensive weapon — namely the roof tiles.

He is also accused of burglary at a flat on Belmore Street and common assault in connection with domestic-related incidents earlier in the year.

During a bail application Crown lawyer Iryna Kennedy said police were called to the area on June 14 amid reports that Sheridan had gone to the apartment and was “wrecking it”.

She told the court chairs had been used to barricade the property.

Sheridan was allegedly spotted climbing onto the roof of neighbouring buildings — remaining there for seven and a half hours.

“During this time the applicant removed roof tiles from some of the properties and proceeded to throw these into Belmore Street in an attempt to hit those below who were recording him on their phones,” Ms Kennedy said.

She claimed he screamed and shouted obscenities at police, fire service personnel and members of the public.

With the area cordoned off for the duration of the incident, a PSNI helicopter and negotiator were also deployed before Sheridan was persuaded to come down from the roof at around 3am, according to the prosecution.

Defence counsel acknowledged any loss of revenue to the town centre due to the alleged incident was “socially unhelpful”.

But the barrister contended: “On this day the accused says he had been in a distressed state and his mental health was failing.

“He had taken to the roof not for the primary reason of causing the scene, but because he had his own thoughts of self-harm,” he added.

Bail was refused, however, due to concerns about potential re-offending or interference with witnesses.

Judge Patrick Kinney said: “There’s a clear risk to the community and indeed to the public at large.”