An Enniskillen man has been remanded in custody following allegations of serious assault on his partner.
At Omagh Magistrates Court on Tuesday Christopher Boyle (28) of Mallard Heights was overnight charged.
He is accused of committing grievous bodily harm (GBH), common assault, and strangulation, aggravated by domestic abuse, between December 15 and 16.
He is also charged with two counts of assaulting police and one of resisting police on December 29.
A police detective, who connected Boyle to the charges, told the court that the allegations arose after a woman called police asking to remove Boyle from the house on December 29.
Whilst speaking to the police, the alleged victim told them that Boyle had assaulted her two weeks prior (December 15 and 16). She said that they had been arguing when Boyle put a jumper over her head and put his hands around her neck, choking her for ‘two to three seconds’.
She claimed that she asked Boyle to stop before he kicked her in the ribs and hit her on the temple before covering her mouth with his hand.
Officers then went to arrest the 28-year-old however he ran away, but was later caught and handcuffed.
Whilst on route to Strabane custody suite Boyle lunged forward to the driver, hitting him on the cheek, and fought with the other officer who had to restrain him, resulting in scratches to the officer’s forearm.
The police detective told the court that they were objecting to bail, highlighting Boyle’s 97 prior convictions. The officer noted that 22 of them were for assaulting police, seven for common assault and four for breaching court orders.
A defence solicitor noted however that the alleged victim left hospital without assessment for her claimed injuries and that no medical evidence has since been offered to the investigation.
He added that the allegations only arose after police said they couldn’t remove Boyle from the house and that police didn’t note any visible injuries.
The solicitor noted that there is no evidence of GBH and that the evidential test for the charge ‘was not met’.
However district judge Conor Heaney said that the court was not ‘trying the case’ and noting Boyle’s previous convictions he was ‘not persuaded’ to grant bail.
Before being taken to the cells Boyle, who sat in the dock of the court’ asked, “Any chance can I appeal that?”
Judge Heaney said that Boyle can apply to the High Court for bail, which he replied “100 per-cent.”
The case will return to Enniskillen Magistrates Court on January 5, with the police directed to seek medical evidence from the alleged victim.
