A local judge has criticised ‘deficiencies’ in Northern Ireland’s mental health services when dealing with a mentally ill Derry man who faced being sent to prison due to a lack of appropriate facilities.
Christopher Mullan, 23, of Holly Lane, is charged with possession of an offensive weapon, namely a potato peeler, and common assault on July 21.
Holly Lane is based at Gransha, it holds sixteen self-contained flats, and is a collaboration between the Western Trust and Apex Housing Association.
It aims to offer an enhanced quality of life, where clients can enjoy both their independence and on-site support from suitably qualified, experienced and skilled Western Trust staff on a 24-hour basis.
The court heard the defendant got into a fight with another resident in a communal area after 8pm.
Mullan said he had been struck with a snooker cue, and then retaliated by punching the other individual.
Both men were arrested, and the defendant was assessed at Grangewood, where he was deemed fit for police interview.
On July 25 he told police that they had an argument about money, and he was struck on the head with a ‘bottle’.
Mullan said he punched the man, and then put him in a headlock because he ‘didn’t want to hurt him any more’.
The defendant said he was afraid the other man would get a knife, so he got a potato peeler, but ‘would not have used it to hurt anybody’.
The alleged injured party refused to provide a statement to police.
A police officer raised concerns about the two men residing in close proximity, but said there was no other suitable bail address for the defendant considering his health difficulties.
She also suggested that remanding him in custody could be ‘detrimental to his progress’.
Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley said his client has ‘severe mental health problems’ and, unfortunately, it has been ‘left with the criminal justice system to deal with him’.
He explained that bruising to the 23-year-old’s body may support his allegation that he had been struck himself.
The offences are ‘serious, but not amongst the most serious’, and his client has no record in the last five years, he added.
Alcohol played a ‘big part’ in the incident, the court heard, and as such Apex have said they want a ‘drinking ban’ at the site.
District Judge Barnet McElholm said prison is not the place for Mullan, and there is no other suitable accommodation in Northern Ireland.
This is a case that ‘highlights the deficiencies in mental health services’, when two people who don’t get on can’t be separated because there is no other facility available.
Judge McElholm granted Mullan his own bail of £500, with conditions not to drink alcohol and avoid contact with the injured party.
He accepted there would inevitably be ‘inadvertent incidents of contact’, but if that happens, the defendant must ‘walk away’.
“If there are any further incidents one or the other will have to go somewhere.
“We have to at all times remember the welfare of staff.”
The 23-year-old will appear before court again on August 24.
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