A father-of-two accused of wounding a "completely vulnerable" 73-year-old man who intervened in a domestic incident was granted bail on Tuesday.
As she agreed to release Conor James Emmanuel Wylie from custody, Judge Sandra Crawford imposed a set of stringent conditions and warned that any breaches would result in a return to prison. Earlier this month a bid to release Wylie on bail was mounted, and rejected, at Belfast Crown Court due to concerns that that he had breached bail in the past and that no conditions imposed could manage the risks he posed.
A fresh application was launched today on the grounds that Wylie's previous offending was linked to his misuse of alcohol but that he has secured a place on a treatment programme designed to tackle both his alcohol abuse and past trauma.
Wylie, who is 45 and from Divis Tower in Belfast, attended today's hearing via a videolink with HMP Maghaberry. Launching the new bid for his release, Wylie's solicitor told Judge Sandra Crawford that her client is finding his time in custody, and being separated from his family, as "very challenging."
The solicitor also addressed the change in circumstances which prompted the fresh application and revealed Wylie has been accepted on a 12-week counselling course with Holy Trinity.
She revealed that having been on the waiting list for the course since last October, a place is now available for Wylie, with the start date set as this Thursday, February 20th. The solicitor said that if Wylie wasn't granted bail he would "go back to the bottom of the waiting list".
Urging Judge Crawford to give Wylie a "final chance", the solicitor said her client was prepared to adhere to any "robust" conditions imposed if granted bail which she said would "provide the right amount of pressure and focus."
When asked what the Crown's view was on Wylie's release, a prosecuting barrister said police had concerns about both Wylie's re-offending and for his partner.
The prosecutor addressed the charges currently faced by Wylie which he said concerned the wounding of a "completely vulnerable 73-year old" on November 3, 2023.
He told the court the alleged injured party "only intervened because he was concerned about the way the defendant was behaving towards his partner" which resulted in him being attacked by Wylie. Objecting to bail, the prosecutor spoke of concerns regarding further offending, the safety of Wylie's partner and previous breaches in the past.
At this point Wylie's solicitor told Judge Crawford that her client and his partner "are together ... they are in a relationship." She added that Wylie's offending and past breaches of bail were fuelled by alcohol, that he wants to address this misuse by attending the counselling programme and that he "wants to get his life back on track".
After listening to the submissions made by both the Crown and defence, Judge Crawford said that "not without a degree of reluctance" she was granting bail with "extremely stringent conditions" imposed.
The conditions include not having any contact with the alleged injured party, reporting to police on a daily basis, residing at an address approved by the PSNI and being electronically tagged. Wylie is also banned from consuming alcohol and/or illegal drugs and will submit to any breath tests if requested to do so by police.
Judge Crawford added that Wylie must attend all the weekly counselling sessions with Holy Trinity and that a failure to do so would be deemed as a breach of bail.
Any breaches of any kind, the Judge warned, would result in Wylie "being returned to Maghaberry and that any further application of this type will not be entertained by this court."
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