County Armagh Man Acquitted of Attempted Murder Charges

An individual from County Armagh, who faced accusations of attempting to sever a victim’s head, was cleared of attempted murder after the prosecution opted not to present evidence in the case. Jamie Gollogly, aged 30, residing at Rockview Crescent in Belleeks, had been charged with two counts of attempted murder, along with individual charges of aggravated burglary, criminal damage, and illegal possession of a weapon, specifically a hatchet. These alleged crimes reportedly took place on 1 June 2022. David Russell KC, representing the prosecution, stated that “developments” had led to a change in strategy, and the Crown’s current intention was “to offer no evidence in the case”, even though a jury had already been empaneled at Newry Crown Court earlier on Monday. Judge Paul Ramsey KC expressed gratitude to the jury for their presence and explained that since no evidence had been presented to them, he would be issuing a directive: “I will be directing you to find verdicts of not guilty by direction”. After confirming that the jury foreperson had signed the necessary documents to record the not guilty verdicts, Judge Ramsey informed Mr Gollogly, “you are free to leave the dock”.