Leitrim man remanded after failing to sign on 129 times while on bail

A 19-year-old Carrick-on-Shannon man has been remanded in custody after the court heard he failed to sign on at the Garda station 129 times, left the country, and continued contact with the alleged injured party while on bail for serious charges.

Deedar Othman (19), 56 Oaklands, Carrick-on-Shannon, appeared before Judge Éiteáin Cunningham on October 28th facing charges of non-fatal strangulation, threatening to kill, and possession of a knife, arising from an incident in June. He had previously been granted bail twice, with conditions requiring him to remain sober, sign on daily at Carrick Garda Station, keep a night-time curfew, surrender his passport and have no contact with the complainant.

The court heard evidence that Othman had not signed on for 129 days, did not surrender his passport, and travelled to Spain and later to Kurdistan during the bail period. Gardaí also said he continued to have contact with the alleged injured party and was arrested at 2am on a later date, in breach of the curfew imposed.

Representing Othman, solicitor Ciarán White told the court that his client had gone to Spain to meet his girlfriend’s parents and then to Kurdistan because his grandfather was gravely ill. Othman gave evidence stating that the signing-on requirement had been crossed out on the bail sheet he received, and that he believed he no longer needed to sign at the Garda station.

“My girlfriend was pregnant so I went to Spain to meet her parents. I will sign on every day from now on, I swear on the Quran,” he told the court.

DPP opposed bail, arguing that Othman had shown a "complete disregard for bail conditions and posed a risk of absconding and interfering with witnesses."

Judge Cunningham refused bail, citing the seriousness of the alleged offences, "the repeated failure to answer bail, the fact that he had left the jurisdiction, and the admitted ongoing contact with the complainant." She ruled that the objection to bail was established under O’Callaghan grounds.

Othman was remanded in custody to Castlerea Prison.

READ MORE Leitrim man remanded after failing to sign on 129 times while on bail