A woman who used a pair of men’s underpants to cover her face as she breached a police cordon during a bomb alert at Lurgan Police Station, has been jailed.
Elisha Donnelly (26), with an address listed as Abercorn Park in Portadown, pleaded guilty to charges of breaching a cordon on March 31 this year and obstructing a police officer.
The full details of the cordon charge are that she ‘failed to comply with a prohibition or restriction imposed by a constable in uniform by virtue of section 36(1)(f) of the Terrorism Act 2000, namely access to a cordoned area by pedestrians or vehicles at Church Place, Lurgan, contrary to Section 36(2) of the Terrorism Act 2000′.
The defendant appeared at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Friday via videolink from prison.
A previous court was told that at 8am on March 31 officers were on duty at a cordon when they saw the defendant “running through the police cordon, wearing what appeared to be a balaclava.”
However, it was previously reported, she had a black-coloured pair of men’s underpants covering her face.
At court on Friday, a prosecutor said that at around 8am on March 31 police were at a cordoned area at the police station. The cordon had been designated under the Terrorism Act.
“Police observed an individual running trough the cordon, described as wearing a blue tracksuit top and dark bottoms. An officer on duty subsequently observed an individual running out of the cordoned area in the direction of Edward Street.
“The individual was wearing a blue tracksuit top, dark blue bottoms and an all black face covering that exposed the eye area”.
When detained the defendant gave a false name.
When interviewed later she expressed remorse, the court was told.
She also admitted other offences relating to other days.
On February 23 she had taken cider worth £5 from Lidl in Lurgan.
On February 28 this year she stole a mobile phone worth £1,300 from a man she knew and on March 29 she took alcohol worth £33 from Winemark in Portadown.
On March 8 this year she took clothing worth £77 from Tesco in Lurgan and groceries and confectionary from a shop in Lurgan.
On March 22 this year she stole a bottle of Buckfast from a shop in Lurgan.
A defence barrister sad the defendant had drug issues and was a crack cocaine user at one stage.
He said she had been associating with the “wrong type of person”.
He said a rehab place is available for her in England.
The barrister said the defendant had spent around 80 days in prison on remand.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan said there had been a “spiral” in the defendant’s life and jailed her for seven months.
In relation to the security alert, a PSNI spokesperson had said in a press release at the time, that at approximately 10.30pm on Monday 30 March, a fast food delivery driver was making a delivery in the Kilwilkie area of Lurgan when he was hijacked by two masked men, one of whom was armed with a pistol.
“The men placed an object in the boot of the white Audi A4 car and the driver was ordered to drive it to Lurgan Police Station or he would be killed. The car was driven to the station where the driver escaped and ran to security staff, telling them that there was a bomb in the car.
“A significant policing operation was put in place and continued overnight with around 100 homes in the area being evacuated and residents moved to a local rest centre at Lurgan Town Hall.
“Ammunition Technical Officers carried out a controlled explosion to make the vehicle safe and we now know that this was a crude, but viable improvised explosive device. As unsophisticated as it was, it posed a significant risk to the life of the terrified delivery worker, our security staff and the local community.”
“This was a reckless and cowardly attack. Our investigation is in its early stages but, at this stage, we believe it’s highly likely that dissident Republican groups are responsible.”
