Man charged with hijacking delivery van in Derry over the weekend is granted bail

A man accused of hijacking a newspaper delivery van in the Galliagh area of Derry over the weekend has been granted bail.

Lee Sean Bradley, 20, of Collon Lane, has been charged with hijacking, possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence, namely a knife, and arson on February 13, 2020.

He is further charged with the aggravated taking and damage of a vehicle and dangerous driving in the Bracken Park area on the same date.

Police objected to bail due to a ‘serious risk of reoffending’.   The officer said that Bradley has ‘quite a poor record’ and has been on bail for others matters since September 3 last year.

She cited further offences over the weekend, two other matters pending and notices that have been handed to Bradley for breaching Covid regulations.

In the past twelve months, the officer said, he has been involved in four incidents involving stolen vehicles and driving offences showing that his ‘pattern of offending is escalating’.

A police officer said the PSNI believes the defendant stole a Merecdes-Benz Sprinter van on Saturday.

She described it as ‘serious unprovoked offending against a member of the public who was going about his day’s work’.

Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley referred to the defendant’s original case from January 2 and asked if the police would take a different stance if they were just dealing with that matter.

He accepted there was a ‘very strong prima facie case’ to answer in terms of the January incident in the form of CCTV evidence of him taking a vehicle for a ‘period of time’.

Mr Quigley suggested CCTV from the weekend is ‘extremely poor quality’ but the officer disagreed saying it is ‘very good quality’.

She added that two males can be seen wearing masks.

In response, the defence solicitor said it is ‘almost impossible’ to identify anyone.

The PSNI officer said the clothing can be seen in the CCTV and the defendant was arrested 30 minutes later wearing ‘very similar’ clothes.

The court was told that forensic enquiries are outstanding.

Mr Quigley described his client as a individual with ‘limited intellect’, a detail police said they were not aware of as it hadn't been brought to their attention.

Bradley hasn’t breached bail, the defence solicitor said, and he could be granted bail with a curfew and electronic tag.

Granting bail, the judge said he was satisfied the defendant could be monitored by way of a strict curfew and other conditions.

The 20-year-old was granted his own bail of £400.

Conditions include a curfew of 8pm-7am, no alcohol or drugs, no contact with the alleged injured party and he is not to be a driver or passenger in a private motor vehicle.

The defendant will appear at a court sitting on March 11.