An application to vary a bail condition imposed upon a man charged with offences including threatening to kill his ex-partner was refused today (Tuesday).
A solicitor acting on behalf of James Samuel Clarke made the application to amend his current curfew conditions at Belfast Crown Court. Clarke, from Edenvale Crescent in Belfast, has been charged with five offences dating back to February 16, 2024.
A Crown barrister said these offences - namely three counts of making threats to kill, assaulting police and impeding police - where committed just one week after 38-year old Clarke was released from prison for a separate incident.
Launching the bid to vary Clarke’s curfew for two nights per week, his solicitor said this was to allow him to “make use of his time” and work as a takeaway delivery driver.
Telling Judge Gordon Kerr KC that his client has already served several months in custody on the charges, the solicitor revealed Clarke was granted bail in September and there have “been no issues with bail” since his release from prison.
The solicitor added that Clarke’s case was supposed to be “dealt with” in January but that due to the ongoing withdrawal of services by barristers, it was adjourned and not yet been disposed of. Objecting to the variation, a Crown barrister addressed the five charges levelled at Clarke which he said were committed “in the evening” and that “intoxication was a factor”.
The prosecutor said it was the Crown’s case that Clarke called at his ex-partner’s home in east Belfast where he banged the windows and issued threats to kill her, her father and her sister. The Crown barrister added that Clarke was “violent and aggressive” to police when he was being arrested.
Telling the court the offences occurred when Clarke was “out of control through drink”, the prosecutor said: “Police have a fear that if he is allowed to go beyond the time that is currently allowed to him, these offences will re-occur.”
Revealing the incident took place around a week after Clarke was released from jail, the Crown barrister said Clarke had 45 previous convictions on his criminal record and has breached bail in the past by damaging a curfew tag in 2020.
Refusing the variation, Judge Kerr branded the offences in February 2024 as “domestic” and said the variation, if granted, would mean Clarke would be able to deliver takeaways in the area where his ex-partner resides. The Judge added that he hoped this case will be dealt with “as soon as possible”.
English (United States) ·