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Hijack duo will spend nine months behind bars

Laganside Court in Belfast
Laganside Court in Belfast Laganside Court in Belfast

TWO men who subjected two women to a "frightening" hijacking in the centre of Belfast have been each detained for nine months.

Richard Jones and Ryan McCrea - who are both 19 - were sent to a young offenders' centre their involvement in the hijacking, which took place in a city centre car park in November 2014.

Passing sentence, Judge Elizabeth McCaffrey told the pair that they would each spend nine months in detention, followed by a similar period on supervised licence.

Both men denied involvement and were tried by a jury earlier this year.

Despite their protests of innocence however, both men were found guilty by a jury of taking a red Polo by force from a car park at Dunbar Link.

During the trial, the jury heard that the owner of the Polo drove from Ballymena to Belfast on November 8, 2014 where she met her friend for lunch and went shopping.

After she put her bags into the boot of the car on her return some hours later, a group of around five young men approached the car.

One of the males ordered the women out of the car, while the motorist was grabbed by the arm and dragged from the vehicle.

The car was driven from the scene, while the women ran to a nearby bar for help.

The jury also heard that after being involved in a collision with another car in the Falls area of the city, the Polo was found abandoned a short distance away.

While McCrea was linked to the car forensically via both DNA and fingerprints, Jones confessed his involvement to police a year after the incident.

Despite this, both accused denied involvement and both gave evidence at the trial, which was held at Belfast Crown Court last month.

Jones branded his confession as "lies" and said his "head was melted" at the time, while McCrea told the jury that on the night in question, he was standing outside a shop in west Belfast when a male he knew pulled up in a red car.

He claimed he got in, lifted a bag from the passenger seat which he handed to the driver, listened to a bit of music, had a smoke, then got out of the car.

Following several hours of deliberations, the jury returned their verdicts and found both men guilty of the offences.

McCrea, from Prospect Park, was found unanimously guilty of hijacking the Polo and of a charge of aggravated vehicle taking causing damage.

Jones, from St Leonard's Crescent, was found guilty by a majority of 11 to one of the same two charges, and also of stealing £45 from one of the victims.

Barristers for both young men said that while they maintained their innocence during the trial, they have since admitted their involvement.

Before the pair were taken into custody, Judge McCaffrey paid tribute to both women for coming to court and giving evidence, and said: "This was undoubtedly a frightening experience for them."