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Orla Mullan, 21 Jul
A County Derry man who is charged in connection with an arson attack at
a block of flats in Limavady earlier this week, was arrested after
being identified by his footwear, a court has heard.
Darrel Toner was arrested at the scene of the oil tank fire at the rear
of the a block of flats at Glenview Drive in Limavady during the early
hours of July 20.
Coleraine Magistrates Court heard this morning that 46 year-old Toner,
who also resides in the same block of flats at Glenview Drive, was
wearing similar footwear to an individual who was partially seen on
CCTV footage at the scene.
A detective constable said police attended the scene of the blaze
shortly after 3.30am on Thursday morning following a phone call from
the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service.
The resident of a flat in the block told police that he had been woken
from his sleep at around 3.30am after hearing a 'very loud bang'. When
he looked out the window, he saw his oil tank on fire and subsequently
called NIFRS before leaving the property.
The court heard that the resident had a CCTV camera installed at the
rear of his property and while viewing footage on his phone, he noticed
that someone had tampered with the camera at around 3am.
The camera, which had been facing out into his garden and onto his bins
and oil tank, had been moved to face downwards towards the ground.
The suspect, who climbed on top of an oil boiler to move the camera,
was partially seen in the footage.
The individual's legs were visible on the CCTV and they were observed
to be wearing navy tracksuit bottoms and trainers which had distinctive
lacing and a thick sole.
While police were at the scene, they observed Toner standing outside
the flats wearing trainers which officers believed to be the same as
those of the individual who was captured on the CCTV.
Toner was arrested and following interview was last night (Thursday)
charged with arson endangering life with intent.
The detective constable told the court that there was a 'complex
history' between Toner and the resident whose oil tank was set alight
and that the accused was the subject of a restraining order of which
the occupant is the applicant.
The officer told the court that there had been some contact between
Toner and the occupant at around 11.30pm on Wednesday evening when the
pair had met on the stairwell of the block of flats. At this time,
Toner recorded the occupant on his phone as he tried to get into his
flat. The occupant told police that Toner was wearing the same clothing
as the individual who was captured on CCTV.
During interview, Toner denied any involvement in the arson attack and
claimed that he had been watching television and dozing at home at the
time of the incident. He stated that he had stayed at home all day and
had only left the property to take his dog for a walk or to go out to
the toilet, however he was unable to provide times for these. He said
he only became aware of the fire when his dog began acting suspiciously
and he went out to check what was going on.
Toner also denied moving the CCTV camera and claimed that his DNA would
not be found on the camera or on a box of matches which were found at
the scene. When shown the CCTV footage, the accused acknowledged that
his footwear looked similar to his but denied that they were his
trainers.
Outlining the damage caused as a result of the arson attack, the
officer said that they were 'fortunate' the fire did not spread
further.
He said one oil tank was completely destroyed as a result of the fire
and two oil tanks nearby were also damaged. A window and blind were
also substantially damaged however the officer said he did not know the
total cost of the damage caused at this stage.
The officer said that while they had no independent witnesses who had
observed Toner setting fire to the oil tank, they still had to speak to
one potential witness. He confirmed that Toner, who the court heard has
143 previous convictions, two of them for arson, had been arrested
based on the clothing he was wearing.
The officer said PSNI were objecting to bail as Toner lives within
close proximity to the complainant in the case.
Toner's solicitor Paddy McGurk said that there was an 'unhappy history'
between his client and the complainant.
However, he said Toner 'absolutely denies being involved in this very
serious incident'.
Mr McGurk said the 'sole piece of evidence against him is based on the
shoes he was wearing' however he stated that the Kappa trainers in
question were 'very popular' and can be purchased from Amazon.
“There is no identification evidence, no forensic evidence – that is
the sole evidence against him,” said Mr McGurk, who said it would be a
considerable period before the case would come to court.
Applying for bail on Toner's behalf, he said he could provide police
with a number of potential bail addresses.
Addressing the judge, Mr McGurk said: “Given the weakness of the case I
would ask you to grant bail.”
The judge acknowledged that the allegation against Toner was serious
however she said she was prepared to grant bail, with conditions,
provided that he find a suitable bail address outside of Limavady.
Toner is to be released on bail of £500 to reside at an address to be
approved by the PSNI.
He is not permitted to enter Limavady, as defined by the 30mph zones,
and is not to have any contact, either directly or indirectly, with the
complainant or witnesses.
Toner was also ordered to observe a curfew between 10pm and 8am, is to
be electronically tagged and is not permitted to be intoxicated in
public and is to submit to a preliminary breath test if required.
The case was adjourned until August 16.