Spanish Man Sentenced For Belfast Riot Attack

A Spanish national could have killed a female police officer when he dropped a concrete block on her during serious rioting last July in Belfast's nationalist Ardoyne area.

Rodger Jarro Costa, 29, pleaded guilty to attempting to commit grievous bodily harm last month, just as his trial was about to begin and has been sentenced to four years in prison after he admitted injuring the policewoman during the violence.

Costa, with an address at Ulsterville Avenue in south Belfast, had already pleaded guilty to an offence of rioting.

The unnamed victim was one of 48 PSNI officers injured during three nights of violence. Judge Tom Burgess told Belfast Crown Court that Costa had intentionally armed himself and thrown several pieces of heavy masonry at police.

His intention was to injure them and he said that the politics and journalism graduate was lucky not to be facing more serious charges as he could easily have caused fatal injuries to the policewoman.

The Chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board has welcomed the sentence given to a man charged with grievous bodily harm to a police officer during serious public disorder in Ardoyne last year.

Mr Rea said: "This sentence sends a very strong message that those who cause injury to our police officers during public order situations will be dealt with robustly by the courts.

"Last week when the Board met to discuss the disorder in east Belfast, and members were assured by the Chief Constable that those who purposefully come onto our streets to engage in riotous behaviour will be subject to follow up investigations by police.

"Members agreed that a clear message has to be sent that this type of behaviour will result in prosecution and this is an approach which the Board strongly supports," he said.

(BMcC/GK)