Train assault thug in foul-mouthed temper tantrum after judge refuses to grant bail

Accused told previous convictions make him ‘unsuitable’ for release

A MAN who attacked a train driver after he was ordered off the vehicle for vaping reacted angrily in court after a judge refused to grant him bail yesterday.

Standing in handcuffs and wearing a police-issue grey tracksuit in the dock of Ballymena Magistrates Court, Stephen Weldon hurled foul-mouthed abuse at District Judge Nigel Broderick as staff escorted him to the cells.

Refusing to free the 34-yearold, the judge said while he usually had to take into account the presumption of innocence, that was not the case with Weldon because he had made “full and frank admissions”.

He said while the charges may be revised by the Public Prosecution Service, “what cannot be in dispute is the fact that this was an unwarranted assault on a public servant who was providing public transport”.

Judge Broderick said the “unprovoked, vindictive assault would have been a terrifying experience for the injured party”.

He added that given the defendant’s previous convictions for assault, he was “not a suitable candidate for bail”.

Earlier, Weldon, from Inniscarn Drive in Newtownabbey, confirmed he understood the allegations against him.

He is charged with attempted grievous bodily harm with intent and criminal damage to a mobile phone and a bag belonging to Translink. He is alleged to have committed the offences earlier this week.

Objecting to bail, a detective constable outlined how Weldon was on a train on his way to Larne when the conductor spotted him vaping.

He told him he would have to get off when it pulled into the Magheramorne halt a few miles outside the town.

Weldon then asked how he could get to work, and the conductor told him there might be a bus or he could walk it.

The two men then “fistbumped”, the court was told, and the train continued on.

The victim noticed a charger for a vaping device and tried to give it to the defendant when the train arrived at Magheramorne halt, only for Weldon to attack him, the court was told.

The officer said the defendant had kicked the victim, causing him to fall into doors behind him, and then “dragged him off the train and assaulted him on the platform”, using both his feet and fists.

“The victim would say that he was struck six or seven times to his head and face,” the officer told the court.

After he managed to get away, the victim shouted at passengers to call the police as he ran through the train, taking shelter in the driver’s cabin.

The PSNI arrested Weldon after arriving at the scene.

It was established during police enquiries that the defendant had livestreamed part of the attack online.

The officer described how the video showed Weldon stamping on the victim’s personal phone, work phone and money bag.

He said he could also be heard saying the conductor “was talking tough and got his ass whooped”.

The court was told Weldon finished the video by telling his viewers “good luck and God bless” and saying: “F ****** motherf ***** not so tough now”.

During police interviews, he conceded that, faced with a 90-minute walk to get to work and fearing that he would lose the job he had only just started, “he saw red”.

Weldon admitted dragging the conductor off the train and striking him but denied assaulting him further.

The officer told the court that according to the defendant, the victim’s “attitude wasn’t right”.

“He was just trying to be the alpha, so the defendant showed him who was the big alpha,” the officer said.

The victim was taken to hospital with a suspected fractured jaw, but an X-ray confirmed it was just badly swollen.

However, he did sustain five chipped teeth and bruising and abrasions.

Objecting to bail, the officer said police were concerned about witness interference.

Defence counsel Neil Moore said given the fact that his client had made admissions, there was no basis for any such concerns from the police.

The barrister told the court although Weldon was charged with attempted grievous bodily harm, “I have been told that [charge] will not be proceeded with and will be replaced by actual bodily harm”.

He argued the case would likely stay in the magistrates courts and may not ultimately attract a jail sentence.

Mr Moore also said his client had accepted his actions were “completely improper”.

He added that with Weldon likely to lose his job in Larne, he no longer had any need to take trains, so he could be freed on bail with conditions to assuage police concerns.

Judge Broderick said while the charge may be reduced, there was “a risk of further offences and a risk of an immediate custodial sentence, but that remains to be seen”.

Remanding the defendant into custody, he adjourned the case to June 6.

With Weldon hurling abuse, Judge Broderick said that if the he appealed the decision, “I want the High Court to be told of his attitude”.

‘There is a risk of further offences and a risk of an immediate custodial sentence, but that remains to be seen’