A man has appeared in court charged with attempting to murder two police officers.
In a case branded as “somewhat unusual” by a defence barrister, Belfast Crown Court heard Leon Maginn (24) attacked the officers last February in the hope that they would shoot and kill him.
With an address at Ormeau Road in Belfast, Maginn was remanded in HMP Maghaberry following the incident but was transferred to the Shannon Clinic and is currently housed in the secure psychiatric unit.
Two members of staff from Shannon accompanied Maginn to court where he was arraigned on two charges of attempted murder.
After confirming his identity, Maginn was charged with attempting to murder two males on February 1 2023. He pleaded not guilty.
Defence barrister Stephen Toal KC told Judge Philip Gilpin the case was “somewhat usual”.
Mr Toal said: “Two police officers were the victims and the accused was attempting to commit suicide by attacking the police officers and hoping they would shoot him dead.”
Confirming Maginn was currently detained in the psychiatric unit, Mr Toal said that whilst his client has been deemed fit to stand trial, a psychiatrist has been asked to assess the “specific intent” at the time of the incident.
Although no details of the incident were aired during Wednesday’s hearing, a previous hearing was told that two police officers were stabbed whilst helping a vulnerable person.
Mr Toal told Judge Gilpin that there was “no factual dispute in this case”.
The judge set the date for trial as January 27 2025 and said he would review the case at the end of October.