A former Belfast bar manager with ‘extreme paedophilic tendencies’ was bailed
Northern Ireland’s court summer recess has come to an end, with a busy first week back.
This week, a man accused of murder appeared before Newry Magistrates’ Court and a hit and run motorist who caused the death of a man and his dog admitted careless driving.
A four-month jail term was also imposed upon a Belfast man who admitted kicking another man in the head.
Here’s a roundup of what we heard in the courts this week, beginning Monday September 8, 2025.
Co Armagh murder accused appears in court
A 39-year-old man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with the murder of Christopher “Chrissy” Burns in Co Armagh.
Mr Burns, 40, was originally from the Warrenpoint area in Co Down. His body was found in the Cusher Green area of Mountnorris last Thursday morning with serious head and facial injuries.
Aaron McAnulty, also from Cusher Green, appeared before a district judge in Newry Magistrates’ Court on Monday, charged with the murder of Mr Burns.
Read more here.
Hit and run motorist who caused death of man and his dog admits careless driving
A hit-and-run driver who struck a man and his dog as they were out for a walk admitted causing death by careless driving.
Richard Boyle was walking his dog Junior on the Stewartstown Road in Belfast in February 2021 when he was struck by a car.
Both Mr Boyle, 42, and his beloved pet died from the injuries they sustained in the hit and run. Five men and a woman appeared together in the dock of Belfast Crown Court in March of this year when they denied a range of charges arising from the fatal incident.
Read more here.
‘I danced all over that wee man’s head’: Man sentenced for street attack
A four-month jail term was imposed upon a Belfast man who admitted kicking another man in the head.
Christopher Hannon, from Monagh Road in West Belfast, was handed a 19-month sentence which was divided between four months in prison followed by 15 months on supervised licence.
The 20-year-old admitted a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was sentenced by Judge Patrick Lynch KC.
Read more here.
‘I have done something bad’: Man who stabbed victim three times sentenced
A Belfast man who stabbed a male three times with a knife during an altercation was jailed for 18 months.
Judge Neil Rafferty KC told Declan Stewart he will spend a further 18 months on supervised licence on his release from custody.
The 38-year-old, of Great Victoria Street, had previously pleaded guilty to a single charge of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Read more here.
Man arrested in Belfast graveyard after 5G mast attack, court hears
A series of arson attacks on 5G masts in West Belfast has caused £4m worth of damage, a court heard.
Police said a network of conspiracy theorists are believed to be behind an escalating campaign which is impacting on the local economy and potentially putting lives at risk. Details emerged as a 44-year-old man was remanded into custody accused of setting fire to one of the installations at the weekend.
Darren Clarke, of no fixed abode, faces a charge of arson with intent to destroy a 5G mast belonging to the O2 network. Fire crews were called to extinguish the blaze at the telecommunications structure at Whiterock Road late on Sunday night.
Second man pleads guilty to theft of Banksy artwork worth £95,000
A second man pleaded guilty to the theft of a £95,000 piece of Banksy artwork.
Ahmed Bouazzi (40), of Roden Street, Belfast, was due to stand trial next week on the single count he faced of theft.
Defence counsel Luke Curran told Judge Gordon Kerr today (Wednesday) that he had an application to have Bouazzi re-arraigned on the sole charge against him.
Read more here.
Former Belfast bar manager with ‘extreme paedophilic tendencies’ bailed
A former bar manager branded a “dangerous individual with extreme paedophilic tendencies” amid claims he discussed abducting and sexually abusing children is to be released on bail, a High Court judge ruled.
Robert John Parke, 33, is also accused of having more than 1,000 illegal files stored on devices seized from his home in Belfast.
The scale of his alleged offending was said to have left even some of the PSNI’s most seasoned detectives shocked.
Read more here.
Men accused of supplying cocaine observed by PSNI during ‘drugs hand over’
Two men have gone on trial accused of supplying a kilo of cocaine with a 75 per cent purity level.
Michael Armstrong (65), of Old Holywood Road in Holywood, Co Down, and son-in-law Thomas Martin Cusack (30), of Springfield Heights in Belfast, both deny a charge of unlawfully supplying a Class A controlled drug to another.
Armstrong further denies a charge of being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug. Both men were the subject of a PSNI aerial surveillance operation at the time of their detection during a “drugs hand over”.
Read more here.
‘I’m not a tramp, I’m looking for Hayley’: Alleged burglar asleep on man’s sofa
A court heard how a resident came home to find the TV on and an alleged intruder asleep on the sofa.
Newtownards Magistrates Court also heard allegations on Wednesday that Michael McManus had helped himself to a tin of alcohol from the fridge and that when roused, he told the householder, “I’m not a tramp, I’m looking for Hayley.”
Appearing at court by video link from police custody, 26-year-old McManus confirmed he understood the single charge against him.
Read more here.
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