County Derry men charged in connection with Limavady incident remanded in custody

Two County Derry men have been charged with offences relating to an incident in Limavady which saw a police officer sustain facial injuries.

The accused - Connor McSorley (27), of Rathbeg Crescent in Limavady, and James Doherty (27), of Stradowen Drive in Derry - appeared before Antrim Court, via videolink from Waterside Custody Suite, this morning (Tuesday).

The men were arrested during an incident at a block of flats in the Glenview area of Limavady on Sunday afternoon (March 22).

Specially trained police officers were deployed to deal with the situation after one of the individuals was arrested and the other fled the scene and barricaded himself in a nearby flat armed with a broken bottle.

This resulted in officers cordoning off the area with a large crowd gathering outside the premises while the incident was unfolding.

Live videos from the scene were also uploaded to the social media platform TikTok.

One video showed multiple armed officers enter the property while others smashed the windows from the outside.

During the incident, a Conducted Energy Device (CED) was deployed to prevent the male from harming himself. 

Police later confirmed that one officer was assaulted during the incident, and had to go to hospital for treatment of injuries to his face.
A woman was also taken to hospital for treatment to injuries that were not serious.

McSorley is charged with using disorderly behaviour, two counts of assault on police and resisting police on March 22.

He is further charged with five counts of theft - stealing alcohol from both Spar and Roebank Service Station on three separate dates - March 8, March 21 and March 22.

The accused is also charged with possession of an offensive weapon, namely a glass bottle, on Irish Green Street, Limavady on March 22.

Meanwhile, Doherty is charged with two counts of assault on police and resisting police on March 22.

He is also charged with the theft of £132.93 worth of alcohol from Limavady Spar on the same date.

Further charges of attempted grievous bodily harm and using disorderly behaviour in Causeway Hospital were put to Doherty during the short hearing.

No details surrounding the case were opened in court and neither of the accused spoke, other than to confirm their identity.

Solicitors for both McSorley and Doherty said that no application for bail would be made for either of the accused.

District Judge Nigel Broderick remanded McSorley and Doherty in custody to appear before Limavady Magistrates’ Court on April 15.