A FORMER Sinn Féin councillor, a teenager and his mother were yesterday formally arraigned before Belfast Crown Court on charges connected to the murder of 48-year-old Constable Stephen Carroll two years ago.
The three, who are expected to go on trial before a Diplock judge sitting without a jury in November, pleaded not guilty as the charges were put to them.
Former councillor Brendan McConville (39) of Aldervale, Tullygally, and John Paul Wootton (19) of Collindale, Lurgan, both deny the murder of Constable Carroll who was shot dead on March 9th, 2009.
They also deny possessing an AK47 assault rifle and ammunition allegedly used in the shooting at Linsmore Manor, Craigavon.
The teenager also denies attempting to collect information on “a certain police constable” and his home address, likely to be of use to terrorists, between January and March 2009.
His mother Sharon Wootton (38), of the same address, denied perverting the course of public justice between March and October 2009 by giving police information which she knew to be false, and by “removing a computer or computers from her home address believing her home address might be searched”. While the Belfast court released Mrs Wootton on continuing bail, her son and McConville were remanded back into custody.
Constable Carroll, a grandfather with over 24 years’ service with the police, was the first officer to be murdered since the changeover from the RUC to the PSNI.
His shooting, as he was responding to a 999 call near the end of his 12-hour shift, came just two days after dissident republicans murdered two soldiers outside Massareene barracks in Antrim as they took delivery of food from two pizza men.