A 24-year-old man who was said to have gone to great lengths to create an elaborate bomb hoax in the Waterside has been granted bail.
Bernard Cooke of Melrose Terrace appeared before Derry Magistrates Court via video link from Maghaberry Prison. He is charged with giving false information to police handlers with the intention of making police believe there was a bomb at Clooney Terrace on July 14.
He is also charged with placing an article at Clooney Terrace on the same date causing a bomb hoax.
At a previous court appearance, a police officer said that police attended Clooney Road after receiving a call from an individual who claimed there was a bomb there. When asked to identify himself, the caller hung up.
A device was found at the scene but was described as an ‘elaborate hoax’. It was a non-viable device fashioned from a metal pipe with a shoe lace at one end ‘resembling a fuse’ and filled with screws and nails inside.
Police were able to identify the owner of the phone from which the hoax call was made, and subsequently attended the address of a 58-year-old male.
However, the man told police he had not made any calls, but had been in the company of Bernard Cooke, who he said had left him for a while after he had lent him his phone. Both men were arrested.
Police then attended the Simon Community, which is fitted with CCTV, and were able to view footage that showed Cooke leaving with a bag containing an object.
Then, 15 minutes later a man could be seen at Clooney Terrace where an item is left on the ground.
Police believed the individual was Cooke but during questioning he gave a ‘no comment’ interview.
The officer described the motive for the alleged offence as ‘less than clear’.
Cooke had originally been denied bail, however, new conditions were agreed and he was subsequently granted bail last Thursday.
Cooke was released on his own bail of £500 to reside at a hostel in Belfast and not to enter Derry. He will be electronically tagged and monitored and must observe a curfew from 9pm to 7am.
The only time he is allowed into Derry is when he has an appointment with his solicitor or at court and he must be able to prove he is attending for these reasons.
He is banned from any contact with his co-accused and is not permitted to take any non-prescribed drugs and must submit to searches and testing.
He is also banned from owning a phone and must report three times weekly to his nearest police station.
Cooke is excused from the next date the matter will be mentioned in court, which is on August 31.
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