Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Face of kill bid accused
Man denied bail over house gun attack
A MAN appeared in court yesterday accused of the attempted murder of a family after shots were fired at a house as children slept inside.
Jonathan Colin Mccormac, 30, was remanded in custody amid allegations the attack in Larne, Co Antrim, is being linked to “loyalist paramilitaries”.
James and Aislinn Hassin’s home was targeted at 2am on Monday and a bedroom window where their three children, aged 10, seven and three, were asleep was blasted.
Shots were also fired into the hallway, and a car was burnt-out. No one was injured in the attack.
A PSNI officer said there had been “ongoing tension” in Larne since April that included assaults and attacks on properties and vehicles.
Mccormac was also charged with carrying a sawn-off shotgun and hijacking a Volkswagen Bora.
The officer said a car was stolen in Larne at 1.40am when two people pointed a firearm to the victim’s head warning them if police were contacted “we know who you are, and we will be back for you”.
A short time later a vehicle was driven into the family’s garage at Brustin Brae Road and shots were fired.
The officer said Mr Hassin identified Mccormac, who was allegedly wearing a balaclava, “by gait and build” as he had known him for five years.
Ballymena Magistrates Court heard a vehicle was later found burnt out and a footwear mark found beside the car was similar to that worn by the accused. The officer said two sawn-off shotguns, cartridges and a crowbar were spotted behind garages near Mccormac’s home in Wellington Green, Larne.
The court heard a car owned by a relative of Mrs Hassin was set on fire on Tuesday night.
A barrister said the case against his client was “circumstantial” and he claimed it appeared there was little evidence against him other than a “heavy set man” being identified.
Mccormac was also charged with the attempted aggravated burglary of a house with intent to commit grievous bodily harm on Bill Russell at Ardnaglass Gardens, Antrim, on August 18.
The defendant is further accused of possessing a sledge hammer and causing damage to a Volkswagen Golf.
The officer said police believed Mccormac was linked to buying a car in which four masked men arrived at the Antrim home. He is also accused of damaging a Peugeot van belonging to Stephen Magill and attacking a Vauxhall Zafira owned by Kim Magill, both on August 29. He is further charged with possessing hand tools as offensive weapons in Larne on the same date.
District Judge Peter King said Mccormac being released to a bail address in Larne “may not be good to his health and the health of others”.
He was remanded in custody to appear again on October 5.
Meanwhile, a 30-year-old woman has been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice linked to the incidents on Monday.