A man has been jailed for his part in a violent hijacking which saw the victim bundled into the boot of his own car.
Mark McCormack, 38, was sentenced to ten years - with half served in custoday and half on licence - for a lost of offences at Coleraine Crown Court.
McCormack, from Glenarm Road, Larne, had previously pleaded guilty to a number of offences, including kidnap, hijacking, possession of a firearm, robbery and false imprisonment.
Another man, Paul Robert Beggs, from James Street in Ballymena, was handed an eight and a half year sentence in November last year for his role in the same incident. Jailing Beggs, 31, at Newry Crown Court the judge described the incidents as “very sinister”.
Friday’s sentencing follows two incidents, one in East Belfast and one in South Belfast, which occurred on the same night in March 2019.
Welcoming the jail term, the police outlined the details of the “cruel ordeal”.
Detective Inspector Michael McDonnell said: “The first incident took place in Belfast’s Isoline Street on the night of 21 March 2019. A young man, sitting in his parked car, was approached by two men, one of whom was armed with a gun. The pair initially forced the victim into the back of the car, drove away and stopped a short time later to bind his hands and put him in the boot. They took his wallet and phone, before driving off again.
“Later, after being joined by a third man, they demanded the victim’s bank card and code, and stopped at an ATM where they withdrew money from his account. All this time – an ordeal that lasted for hours – the young man was kept in the boot.
“Finally, the three suspects took the victim to a derelict house in a rural area, where they tied him up and left him. He eventually managed to break free and raise the alarm with a passing driver.
“This must have been an absolutely terrifying event. It was a prolonged, cowardly and cruel ordeal – one which, without doubt, will never be forgotten.
“The second incident took place in the early hours of 22 March 2019 in the Ridgeway Street/Strandview Street area of Belfast. This time, two male students were approached by three men, one armed with a handgun. One of the victims was punched, and both were robbed of their phones and bank cards. The suspects drove off, but thankfully the robbery was witnessed by members of the public who contacted police with the vehicle’s registration number.”
Detective Inspector McDonnell added: “I’m keen to thank those members of the public who were quick to help – in both cases.
“Such support was invaluable to the victims, and invaluable to our investigation. It has helped us to bring two offenders before court to answer for their actions.”
Ahead of his sentencing in November, Beggs had entered guilty pleas to three counts of robbery and single offences of false imprisonment, theft from a person, having a gun to cause fear, making off without payment and arson, all committed within hours of each other on March 21-22, 2019.
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