An Armagh man who was convicted in his absence of sending messages of a “menacing character” to another has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Court heard that the 24-year-old in one correspondence via Facebook messenger he told the injured party that he was a “dead man walking”.
Patrick McCann, of St Patrick’s Park, did not appear as he was convicted of harassment and four counts of improper use of public electronic communications at the city’s Magistrates’, sitting at Newry, on Tuesday.
Prosecution outlined that on March 31, police received a report from a third party claiming that the defendant had been sending numerous messages to her friend, the injured party.
Between March 23 and April 16, McCann had made contact with this individual through private Facebook messages and calls.
In these, it was outlined how the defendant referred to the injured party as a “dead man walking” and that if he were to pass McCann’s son’s home he would “need a doctor”.
Proving the case in the defendant’s absence, District Judge Eamonn King commented that McCann did have a record but it was “of some vintage”.
The defendant was sentenced to four months in prison suspended for two years and a restraining order was put in place for a period of two years.
