Gun in FonaCab taxi driver video was replica, court told

Brian Stalford, 49, was seen in dashcam footage pointing the replica gun at a man in the front seat of his taxi.

A Belfast taxi driver recorded allegedly threatening a passenger over a suspected drug debt was brandishing an imitation gun, a court has heard.

Brian Stalford, 49, was refused bail at the High Court on Friday.

He is charged with possessing a firearm or imitation firearm, common assault and making threats to kill during the taxi journey on 26 March.

Mr Stalford, whose address cannot be reported, claims the incident was a planned joke between friends.

The defendant is also charged with having a small quantity of cocaine when he was later arrested.

Police launched an investigation when the footage, recorded in Holywood, County Down, was widely circulated on social media in June.

A prosecution lawyer told the court on Friday that Mr Stalford could be seen in the footage issuing a threat that he would "take the man's [passenger's] head off" and then telling him to "work his debt off".

The lawyer also said that at one point in the clip, the man in the front passenger seat was struck in the face with the imitation firearm.

The passenger and another man in the back seat were both visibly shaken and apologetic throughout the ordeal, the lawyer added.

Replica gun still missing

Mr Stalford, who accepted being in the dashcam footage, was sacked by FonaCab after the footage was sent to the company, the court heard.

The court also heard that a forensic examination of the dashcam footage had established that the pistol brandished by Mr Stalford in the video was a replica.

It was revealed that the replica weapon was still missing.

Opposing bail, a prosecution lawyer she said that despite it being a replica gun it had still been brandished to threaten the front-seat passenger into paying off a debt.

The court was also told that Mr Stalford attempted to flee when police went to arrest him and that he had a small bag packed that contained a photograph of his family.

In a prepared statement, Mr Stalford claimed the taxi incident had been a consensual planned prank involving a toy gun.

A defence barrister argued that his client's account had been strengthened by confirmation that it was not a real firearm.

The court heard Mr Stalford had been embarrassed by the incident, but posed no ongoing threat.

The judge, who viewed the footage before reaching his decision, said replica guns could still be used in crimes to create fear.

Judge Simpson cited risks of further offending and interference with potential witnesses as the reason for refusing bail.