Northern Ireland

Larne man guilty of possessing shotguns but not attack

Jonathan McCormac at an earlier hearing. Picture by Pacemaker Press.
Jonathan McCormac at an earlier hearing. Picture by Pacemaker Press. Jonathan McCormac at an earlier hearing. Picture by Pacemaker Press.

A CO Antrim man, accused of having two sawn-off shotguns used to attack a family home in Larne, will be sentenced in September after being found guilty by a judge at Antrim Crown Court.

While Jonathan McCormac was convicted by Judge Melody McReynolds following a no jury trial of having the firearms under suspicious circumstances, she acquitted the 33-year-old of having them with intent to endanger life.

McCormac was also acquitted of stealing a VW Bora car and arson of the stolen vehicle which was set alight outside the Larne home of James and Aisleen Hassin a short time after the robbery in the early hours of 11 September 2017.

Originally from Larne but living at Ollardale Park in Ballyclare, McCormac was remanded into custody and will be sentenced on September 6.

During the trial, the court heard that two masked men armed with sawn off shotguns stole a VW Bora car in what amounted to a hijacking and that within an hour, it was driven into the front gates of the Hassin family home before being set alight.

The court also heard the windows had been damaged when it was shot at three times.

The following day, at garages close to McCormac’s then home, police uncovered two sawn off shotguns, wrapped in bin-liners, stuffed inside a rucksack.

A fingerprint matching McCormac’s was found on one of the black bags, the court heard.

It was the Crown case that McCormac was involved in every aspect of the crimes, said Judge McReynolds.

James Hassin gave evidence that despite the fact the two gunmen he saw outside his home were masked, he recognised McCormac from his build and gait, saying that he had known him for years and that his "head was too small for his body".

Judge McReynolds said it was clear that relations between Mr Hassin and McCormac “are not amicable” so sitting as judge and jury, she had to warn herself to take that into consideration.

As well as refusing to answer police questions, McCormac declined to give evidence to the trial on his own behalf.

The defence argued there could be “an innocent explanation” for his print being on the bag.

Delivering her conclusions, Judge McReynolds said there was not strong enough evidence to place him at the scene of the robbery or arson so the identification evidence is “crucial.”

On that point, the judge said there were discrepancies in the testimony of the Hassins and, that despite the claims about the size of the defendant's head, “there is nothing exceptional or distinctive about his head to body proportions.”

As the identification evidence is not reliable, said the judge, she was not satisfied McCormac was at either the robbery or the arson so she was acquitting him of those charges.

Turning to the firearms count, Judge McReynolds said, given the fingerprint evidence and where the guns were found close to his home, she was satisfied McCormac possessed them but was not satisfied about the intent so was convicting him of having the shotguns under suspicious circumstances.