Dennis Steele: Man accused of burglary spree refused bail over fears he will commit more crimes

District Judge Nigel Broderick said he was concerned Dennis Steele, 46, might interfere with the investigation and not attend the hearings.

In the indictment, which covers the period between February 23 and September 29 this year, Steele, of Cappagh Green in Portstewart, faces a total of 30 offences, including 19 theft, one attempted theft, three criminal damage, one attempted theft and one theft. and five drug offenses, including possession of cannabis, pregabalin and tramadol, and importing class B cannabis.

The burglary charges, the majority of which are alleged to have been committed in February and March, include Steele allegedly breaking into a number of local properties in Coleraine, Macosquin, Portrush, Portstewart and Ballymena, as well as a restaurant called Ballycastle Golf Club. Jewelers on Ballyclare High Street.

Allegedly, £86,500 worth of jewelery and £15,000 worth of golf equipment belonged to Tropen in these two incidents.

Steele, who appeared at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court via video link while in police custody, spoke only to confirm his identity and confirm he understood the charges against him.

Testifying during the controversial bail application, Det. Construction Frawley told court police investigating the burglaries that he had returned footage from his own CCTV cameras at Steele’s home showing the defendant leaving the property and returning at times relevant to the burglaries.

Police also recovered some items stolen during the burglary from Steele’s home, while on his partner’s cell phone, police found photos of some of the stolen items.

DC Frawley told the court it was also the police case that when Steele was seen leaving his home he was sometimes accompanied by co-accused Samuel Todd, whose DNA was found at the scene of the crime.

Investigators also uncovered forensic evidence related to the shoes that they believe could link Steele.

He explained that a wide range of items were stolen during the burglary and details of the crimes revealed that these included a motorbike, motorcycle helmet, power tools, jewellery, cash, food items, jerrycans, cash and golf equipment.

Todd, 39, of Grange Drive, Ballyclare, is currently being held in custody on 24 charges of burglary, theft and criminal damage.

DC Frawley told the court Steele was first arrested last March and released on police bail, but was re-arrested on Friday over an alleged ID in connection with another burglary in September.

He said police officers tried to arrest him on Thursday, but he “ran away” when he saw them and was detained the next day, so police worried he would escape if he was released.

The detective also added that police had concerns that Steele might interfere with the investigation by disposing of anything stolen but not yet recovered; This revealed that Steele had a previous record for similar crimes.

Defense lawyer Eoghan McKenna said Todd and Steele were caught together on CCTV and the pair had been living together for some time so this could have been an innocent explanation.

Emphasizing that Steele was released on bail by the police, the lawyer stated that it would take a long time for the case to progress and argued that he could be released on bail under strict conditions to address the concerns of the police.

But Judge Broderick disagreed and said: “I am not accepting bail.”

He detained Steele and postponed the case until November 18.