McDaid witness is sent to jail
Peter Neill (41), of Hazelbank Road in Coleraine, was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment for causing disorder at Hillcrest Road in the town on Boxing Day 2008.
It is understood the incident was related to sectarian unrest in the town which culminated in Mr McDaid’s murder last year.
Neill is one of the main prosecution witnesses in the murder case and was injured during the disturbances that saw Mr McDaid killed just yards from his home in the Heights estate as he tried to protect a friend from a loyalist mob that had invaded the predominantly Catholic area.
The PSNI has failed in at least three attempts to secure an anti-social behaviour order against Neill, who has more than 150 convictions.
In 2005 Neill launched an unsuccessful challenge to the legality of ASBOs in the High Court when he became the first adult in Northern Ireland to be targeted by the controversial legislation.
