CONVICTED (2023) | hare coursers Darren Prenter, born 25 May 1996, of Velsheda Court, Belfast BT14 7LZ, Patrick McGourty, born 27 December 1995, and Patrick Robert Shannon, born 17 March 1972, of Cranbrook Court, Belfast BT14 7HA.
Prenter and McGourty admitted illegal hare coursing as well as aggravated trespass in Glenwherry Moor in County Antrim on January 22, 2023. Shannon only admitted the aggravated trespass offence.
Following their guilty pleas, the Public Prosecution Service withdrew charges of killing game and taking part in a hare-coursing event.
A defence lawyer told the court the moor’s gamekeeper alerted the police to suspected hare coursing.
When officers arrived, the defendants came walking across fields with three lurchers and a springer spaniel.
While they claimed they had been out walking their dogs, two dead hares were found during a search of a car.
The trio said they had found them by the roadside but were given a formal police caution.
The Public Prosecution Service told the court earlier this week that hare coursing had been a persistent problem on the moor.
District Judge Nigel Broderick replied: “I think I’ve dealt with this area before.”
A defence lawyer conceded that since the dead animals had been found with puncture wounds, it was likely they had died in coursing.
But they added there was no evidence they had been killed on the moor.
Judge Broderick doubted the trio had been in the area merely to walk dogs.
He said: “They all live in Belfast [and] they were in Ballymena. It’s a long way to go just for a walk.”
The judge said: “I take a dim view of this behaviour. It’s an area of conservation, well-maintained, and this was a deliberate act.”
The case against Shannon was adjourned until December 7 for a pre-sentence report.
Sentencing | Prenter and McGourty were given a two-month custodial sentence, suspended for three years.
Belfast Telegraph
North West Hunt Saboteurs (blog)
Update | December 2023
Career criminal Patrick Robert Shannon has now been sentenced. Shannon, who has 156 previous convictions, was given three months in prison, suspended for three years.
District Judge Nigel Broderick told him: “On balance, I will leave something hanging over your head.”
Shannon, now of Annesley Street in Belfast, had already admitted aggravated trespass when he appeared at Ballymena Magistrates Court.
Judge Broderick told Shannon that when deciding his sentence, he had to take into account his extensive criminal record. His previous convictions include armed robbery and drug smuggling.
What can you say ? Cruel crims who celebrate their own criminality.