A man has received a total of two months in prison following his conviction on four separate charges, including a child abduction charge.
Liam Swift (21), with an address of McCrea Park, Clogher, was appearing via videolink from Maghaberry Prison concerning two charges of possession of a Class-B drug, theft and child abduction.
On June 4, Swift was stopped by police in the Diamond area of Enniskillen, and a search uncovered cannabis, Enniskillen Magistrates Court heard last Monday, September 4. Swift, in response to the drug being found, said: “It’s just a joint, let me finish it.”
Then on June 20, Swift was found in possession of 4g of cannabis which he told police was for personal use.
The court further heard that on June 27, Swift stole bottles of alcohol from Dunnes Stores, Enniskillen, worth £60.75.
It was on this date that Swift was also in the company of a child, ignoring a Child Abduction letter which indicated he would not be in this person’s company.
Swift’s barrister, John Mackell, told the court his client had been remanded in custody for approximately seven weeks and there were some suspended sentences active for Swift.
Mr. Mackell said in the weeks leading up to the incidents, Swift was in steady decline and going “off the rails”.
Continuing, Mr. Mackell told the court Swift made full admissions to all charges at an early stage.
Looking at the child abduction incident, Mr. Mackell said Swift had been in the company of the child’s mother before engaging in the “shoplifting escapade”.
He said Swift accepted he should not have been in contact with the child.
Mr. Mackell said Swift had been described as a “malign bad influence” on the young person.
Concluding, Mr. Mackell said Swift accepted his wrongdoing, was still young, and had opportunities to “remedy and rectify his behaviour”.
District Judge Alana McSorley said she recalled reading Swift’s pre-sentence report and imposing a probation order to address his addiction issues, which were not successful.
For the four charges, Swift received two two-week prison sentences, to run consecutively.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here