A 27-year-old man will find out next week if a judge has deemed him guilty of possessing a pipe bomb in west Belfast last year.
Following a short non-jury trial at Belfast Crown Court, where Sean Megaw faced a single charge of possessing the pipe bomb and various components with intent to endanger life or cause serious damage to property, judgment was reserved yesterday by Judge Gordon Kerr.
Two men were initially due to stand trial following the discovery of the device in the Lagmore area in January 2014.
Megaw, from Mount Eagles Square in Dunmurry, and Sean Gerald Ruddy (40), from Burren Meadow in Newcastle, each faced a single count of possessing a pipe bomb and various components.
Prior to the trial starting yesterday, Ruddy asked to be re-arraigned and admitted the charge on the grounds he was enabling others to use the device.
Megaw maintained his innocence and claimed he had nothing to do with the pipe bomb.
The court heard that police pulled up alongside a Nissan Qashqai in the White Rise area on January 31 2014.
Two officers spoke to Megaw, who was behind the wheel, but when Ruddy was then seen in the area, he saw the police presence and started to flee.
Several witnesses, including one of the officers at the scene, said they saw Ruddy discarding an item as he fled.
One officer also said he heard a metallic thud akin to something striking the ground.
When the area was later searched, a pipe bomb was discovered in a garden close to where the Nissan was parked.
Also found in a hedge was a black bag containing pipe bomb components including a bolt and four modified lengths of pipe.
During police interviews, Megaw claimed "his mate" asked him to turn the car around in the cul de sac, and when he parked the Nissan police arrived at the scene.
Megaw said prior to his arrest, he had been in Newcastle with Ruddy and that it was his understanding that they were heading back down that evening.
He also maintained during interviews that his presence at the scene was co-incidental, and denied any knowledge of or handling of any of the items.
He did, however, claim that they had been "set up" by a "tout".
A prosecuting barrister told the court it was the Crown's case that the items were in the course of being transported when the arrests were made, and it was not the Crown's case that Megaw and Ruddy were intending to use the items "for their own immediate use".
A lawyer for Megaw said there was no evidence of either direct possession by his client or any knowledge of the items in questions, as well as no forensic evidence to link Megaw to the explosive device or components.
After hearing submissions from both the Crown and defence, Judge Kerr said he would give his ruling next Thursday.
