John Caldwell: Three men in court over claim of responsibility
- Published
John Caldwell survived being shot several times after gunmen targeted him while he was off duty
Three men have appeared in court charged over the claim of responsibility for the attempted murder of a police detective.
Det Ch Insp John Caldwell was shot in Omagh in County Tyrone on 22 February.
Londonderry men William Martin McDonnell, 36, Caolan Robert Brogan, 23, and Tiernan McFadden, 25, are charged with possessing a document for use in terrorism.
They were remanded in custody by a judge at the city's magistrates' court.
The court was told that the charge each of the men faces relates to the claim of responsibility by the New IRA for the shooting.
It had appeared on a piece of paper stuck on a wall in the Creggan area of Derry on 26 February.
A police officer told the court that Mr McDonnell, of Balbane Pass, had previous convictions and was subject to counter-terrorism legislation for 10 years.
The men, who each have addresses in Derry, appeared at the city's magistrates' court on Friday
The officer said the three men were linked to the activity of the New IRA in Derry.
He told the court there were electronic communications between Mr Brogan and Mr McDonnell using a Facebook account in Mr McDonnell's partner's name.
The officer said that was an attempt by Mr McDonnell to conceal his activities because the defendant has to register his mobile phone number under the counter-terrorism legislation.
He added that police believed a bucket of wallpaper paste that Mr Brogan, of Bluebell Hill Gardens, and Mr McFadden, of Cairnhill, had left at Mr McDonnell's home had been used to stick the claim of responsibility to the wall.
A solicitor for Mr McDonnell said the case was "very weak" and the case against Mr Brogan had "insurmountable difficulties".
Mr McFadden's solicitor said there was "no evidence" of his client's involvement in claiming the shooting.
The judge refused bail, saying the case was "an extremely serious matter".
He said that all three of the defendants were linked to a dissident republican organisation.
The attack on Mr Caldwell was "absolutely heinous", he added.
All three of the men are due to appear in court again on 3 August.