Cookstown man jailed after attacking two officers during police chase in Moneymore

Darryl McCann, 30, from Molesworth Street, appeared at Dungannon Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The court heard how on April 17, police stopped McCann at a Spar shop in Moneymore, and asked him for his driving licence.

Instead, the defendant fled from his vehicle, jumping over a garden fence and onto a flat roof, where he made his way into a narrow back-alley.

When police tried to apprehend him, McCann resisted arrest, lashing out at the officers in the confined space of the alley way, and shouting ‘just let me go’.

A violent tussle ensued with police using CS spray before they could control the defendant, who then gave a series of false identities.

It was only after McCann was fingerprinted at the police station that officers were able to ascertain his true identity.

In a subsequent search of his car, police found 25 ecstasy tablets, a container of white crystals, a bag containing white residue, as well as a number of diazepam tablets.

Police also found two diazepam tablets in his jacket pockets, which he claimed had been prescribed to him. Police also found a wallet containing a credit card with someone else’s name.