Lurgan father is told to stop offending and to focus on his relationship with his children

Caolan Shannon, aged 30, from Wellington Street, Lurgan, appeared in the dock before Craigavon Magistrates Court charged with two counts of criminal damage and disorderly behaviour.

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One count of criminal damage to a door on November 9 last year was dismissed by District Judge Michael Ranaghan.

The court heard that after police were called to an incident in Coronation Street, Lurgan on November 9 last year, Shannon shouted obscenities at police. A number of residents came out of their properties to see what was going on. He was arrested at 3am and transported to Lurgan custody suite. He then began spitting in the rear of the police cell van.

Defence barrister Mr Damien Halleron said: “He is gathering quite a considerable criminal record. There are a considerable number of appearances via video link where this individual is charged, prosecuted, can’t perfect his bail, gets bail and then gets a series of short immediate custodial sentences.”

He said Shannon has his 30th birthday this month. “He himself is telling me, ‘I need to stop this. I am never going to see my children if I keep doing this’." The district judge was told the children are aged six and four.

Mr Halleron said Shannon and the mother of his children have a ‘long, tumultuous relationship’. “Unfortunately they have found it difficult to come to terms with the end of their relationship, the imposition of court orders and abiding by court orders.

"This man wants to clear the decks,” said Mr Halleron, adding that his client suffered trauma as a child which he has never recovered from and has been medicating through drink and drugs for years.

"He knows himself he is going to have to grasp that nettle and he’s made tentative steps to do that through Community Addictions – then he was arrested again and has gone back into custody. He has served around two months in real time in relation to this matter,” said Mr Halleron.

"He is in breach of a Crown Court suspended sentence but it was a different type of offence. The context of that was he had broken into the back of a person’s property with wet clothes. He had changed his clothes and taken their jacket and gone. He pleaded guilty on that basis to the burglary.”

District Judge Ranaghan told Shannon his focus should always have been on his children.

“You owe them a lot to make up for what has happened in their lives. No doubt your criminal record will have an impact on them as well. You need to stop it, Mr Shannon, if you want any relationship with those children at all and if you don’t want to damage those children any further. I am certain there is damage already caused by the fractious relationship between Mr Shannon and the injured party.”

He said he was going to give the defendant a chance to start re-establishing a relationship with his children. He sentenced him to four months in jail on each of the charges with an offender levy of £25 to the disorderly nehaviour charge. The district judge said Shannon may be released on a ‘time served basis’.