A Magistrates’ Judge has sent a 37-year-old Ballymoney man to prison following a domestic incident where he made threats to kill.
Richard Hetherington of Alexandra Avenue Ballymoney, appeared at Coleraine Magistrates’ on June 3, where he was found guilty of two counts of threats to kill at a Coleraine property on September 15 2020.
Additionally, he was also found guilty on a criminal damage charge and two counts of common assault, with the Judge sentencing the defendant to four months imprisonment for each of the five charges, to be served concurrently.
A restraining order was granted to protect the injured parties from further harassment or fear of violence, in place for a total of 4-years.
In another case, the defendant received a consecutive sentence for criminal damage and two counts of common assault, each with a custodial sentence of three months to be served concurrently, following an incident earlier in 2020 on July 16th.
A charge of attempted intimidation where the defendant had been alleged to have told a man to “get out of Ballymoney” or he would ‘kill his dog’ was previously withdrawn at an earlier hearing.
The Court considered a presentence report in both cases and determined that the offences were of ‘such a serious nature that the public should be protected from harm’.
