THREE men from Castlederg were sentenced at Newry Crown Court yesterday for their part in a cross-border incident in which a man was kidnapped in Convoy and wounded while being taken to Castlederg.
The incident happened at a house in Convoy at 11.45am on October 4, 2020, where a man, aged in his thirties, was assaulted. He was forced into a grey Mercedes Benz C Series (registration 09 MH 17020) which subsequently drove away from the scene.
A number of Garda units conducted a search of the area for the vehicle, assisted by colleagues in the PSNI following reports the car may have crossed the border.
Following close cooperation between members of An Garda Síochána and the PSNI, the offending vehicle was located by the PSNI outside a residence in Castlederg in County Tyrone. Three males and two females were arrested.
At approximately 5.30pm, the male was located in Convoy and taken to Letterkenny University Hospital with non-life threatening injuries by a person unknown.
Sean McCosker (34) of Listymore Park, Brendan McShane (30) of Garag Hill and Joseph Martin Mannion (35) of Ednagee Road originally pleaded guilty to a number of offences related to the incident that occurred on October 4, 2020, on June 12, 2023, and were sentenced yesterday at Newry Crown Court.
At a previous court hearing, a police officer stated that the victim was taken to a house in Castlederg and bound to a chair.
According to the police officer, on the journey to Castlederg, the victim’s neck was ‘nicked’ with a machete and at the property a crossbow bolt was shot into his leg and a chainsaw was held behind his neck while it was ‘revving’.
A search of a property was carried out and the suspect vehicle was seized a few days later and Mannion, McCosker and McShane were arrested and subsequently charged on November 5, 2020.
At a hearing in Newry Crown Court yesterday, McCosker was sentenced to five and a half years for kidnapping, occurring in the Republic of Ireland, with two and a half years to be served in prison and three years served on licence; five and a half years for kidnapping occurring in Northern Ireland, with two and a half years to be served in prison and three years served on licence, and two years for wounding, with one year in prison and one year served on licence. All sentences are to be served concurrently.
McShane was sentenced to four years and eight months for kidnapping occurring in the Republic of Ireland, with two years to be served in prison and two years and eight months served on licence; four years and eight months for kidnapping occurring in Northern Ireland, with two years to be served in prison and two years and eight months served on licence, and 18 months for wounding, with nine months in prison and nine months to be served on licence. All sentences are to be served concurrently.
Mannion was sentenced to three years and eight months for kidnapping occurring in the Republic of Ireland, with 18 months to be served in prison and 26 months served on licence; three years and eight months for kidnapping occurring in Northern Ireland, with 18 months to be served in prison and 26 months served on licence, and 12 months for wounding, with six months in prison and six months served on licence. All sentences are to be served concurrently.
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