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Carndonagh man refused bail 15.06.07

A Carndonagh man who allegedly held a steak knife to his pregnant wife's throat was refused bail yesterday at Buncrana District Court.
John McCole, Tullyarb, Carn, appeared before Judge Desmond Zaidan on crutches.
The judge was told the defendant had suffered an injury while in custody and was now "considerably disabled".
During a lengthy bail hearing, Garda Inspector Donal Sweeney said he was opposed to bail on the grounds that the alleged injured party was fearful of the defendant.
Julie McCole, who is seven-and-a-half months pregnant, took the witness stand at the request of the prosecution. Speaking with an American accent, she said she feared for herself and her five children. She said her husband had left messages on her phone when he was in Garda custody and had also made contact with her while he was in custody at Castlerea Prison, Co. Roscommon. She told the court, he told her she "better see (Garda) Anthony Burke and tell him to drop the charges".
Defence solicitor Frank Dorrian said the alleged injured party, who had now moved from the family rented home at Tullyarb to other rented accommodation, had recourse to a barring order. He said bail was routinely granted by the courts for a whole raft of serious charges. But Judge Zaidan took a different view. He refused bail and he refused jurisdiction to hear the case, on the grounds that the charges were "too serious" to be dealt with in the district court. He remanded the accused in custody until June 28th, 2007, for service of the book of evidence and to be sent forward for trial.
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