News

Man bailed on robbery charges woke up in hospital to discover his electronic tag was missing, court hears

Laganside courthouse in Belfast
Laganside courthouse in Belfast Laganside courthouse in Belfast

A MAN bailed on charges of ransacking a south Belfast home and threatening to burn it down with teenage victims inside woke up in hospital to discover his electronic tag missing, a court heard yesterday.

Ruairi Padraig Walls was beaten up and left with no memory of how he lost the monitoring device just days after getting out of custody, his lawyer said.

The 26-year-old was refused renewed bail on Monday for the alleged breach of his original release conditions.

Walls, of Donegall Street in the city, is accused of involvement in a raid on the house at Newforge Grange where two intruders stole £1,200 worth of designer jewellery and clothes.

He denies charges of robbery, burglary, threats to destroy property and threats to kill, assault, demanding cash with menaces, and using force or threats to get an alleged victim to withdraw his statement.

A previous court heard an 18-year-old man was grabbed by the neck outside the property before the robbers went inside and systematically trawled through the rooms on August 15.

Police claimed threats were made that he would be shot and his house would be burnt down with his family in it.

The incident was said to have had a traumatic impact on the teenager and a 16-year-old girl who was also present.

Walls was granted High Court bail last week on conditions that included a night-time curfew and electronic tagging.

But he was returned to custody after the monitoring company discovered the device had been removed.