MAN CLEARED OF OMAGH BOMB CHARGED WITH DRINK-DRIVING
Man Cleared of Omagh Bomb Charged with Drink-Driving
THE MAN cleared of the Omagh bomb massacre appeared in court yesterday charged with drink driving.
Sean Hoey (39) had alcohol in excess of the legal limit in his system when he was stopped by police in his home village of Jonesborough, south Armagh, earlier this month, Newry Magistrates' Court heard.
Standing in the dock dressed in a grey green jacket, a black jumper and blue jeans, he did not speak during his brief appearance, nodding only to acknowledge he understood the charge against him.
An officer from the PSNI told magistrate Paul Copeland that he could connect Hoey, from Molly Road, Jonesborough, with the offence on the nearby Finegans Road on July 5.
Mr Copeland ordered the electrician, who was fuller in face than during the marathon Omagh trial of two years ago, to appear before him again next month for a further hearing.
In December 2007, Hoey was acquitted in Belfast Crown Court of murdering the 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, who died in the August 1998 Real IRA outrage.
He was also cleared of 26 other charges linked to a series of dissident republican attacks in the months around Omagh.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Weir strongly criticised the case presented by the prosecution during the 56-day trial, accusing police of handling forensic evidence in a thoughtless and slapdash manner.
No one has ever been successfully criminally prosecuted for the atrocity, which came only four months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement peace settlement.
However, last month four men were found liable for the bombing in a landmark civil case taken by the families and ordered to pay millions in compensation.
Hoey was not among the respondents named in the families' action, which was heard in Belfast High Court.
In the wake of the civil case and a Police Ombudsman's Office investigation that cleared two scene-of-crime officers accused of lying, the PSNI has decided to review the evidence to see if there are grounds for new criminal proceedings.
After today's hearing in Newry, Hoey left court alone.
THE MAN cleared of the Omagh bomb massacre appeared in court yesterday charged with drink driving.
Sean Hoey (39) had alcohol in excess of the legal limit in his system when he was stopped by police in his home village of Jonesborough, south Armagh, earlier this month, Newry Magistrates' Court heard.
Standing in the dock dressed in a grey green jacket, a black jumper and blue jeans, he did not speak during his brief appearance, nodding only to acknowledge he understood the charge against him.
An officer from the PSNI told magistrate Paul Copeland that he could connect Hoey, from Molly Road, Jonesborough, with the offence on the nearby Finegans Road on July 5.
Mr Copeland ordered the electrician, who was fuller in face than during the marathon Omagh trial of two years ago, to appear before him again next month for a further hearing.
In December 2007, Hoey was acquitted in Belfast Crown Court of murdering the 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, who died in the August 1998 Real IRA outrage.
He was also cleared of 26 other charges linked to a series of dissident republican attacks in the months around Omagh.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Weir strongly criticised the case presented by the prosecution during the 56-day trial, accusing police of handling forensic evidence in a thoughtless and slapdash manner.
No one has ever been successfully criminally prosecuted for the atrocity, which came only four months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement peace settlement.
However, last month four men were found liable for the bombing in a landmark civil case taken by the families and ordered to pay millions in compensation.
Hoey was not among the respondents named in the families' action, which was heard in Belfast High Court.
In the wake of the civil case and a Police Ombudsman's Office investigation that cleared two scene-of-crime officers accused of lying, the PSNI has decided to review the evidence to see if there are grounds for new criminal proceedings.
After today's hearing in Newry, Hoey left court alone.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/1011
Published Date: 30-Jul-09
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