A man was jailed today for a spate of car crimes including a violent attempted hijacking which saw a female motorist kicked in the stomach.
His offending occurred in the Botanic and Queen's University area of Belfast late on the evening of December 9, 2022 and into the early hours of December 10.She stopped her car to take a phonecall and as she sat stationary with friends also in the car, McCoey approached the vehicle. He opened the driver’s door, shouted ‘get the f*** out of the car’ and reached into the vehicle to try and take control of the steering wheel.
Judge Kerr said as a result of the attempted hijacking, the motorist was left “shaken, afraid and with a headache from where she has been punched”. The motorist saw police blue lights, pulled in and his vehicle was then approached by McCoey who tried to open the passenger’s door. McCoey then produced a cannister and a lighter and made an attempt to ignite the contents of the cannister, which failed to catch.
During an interview with police, McCoey refused to answer questions put to him about his actions - and at the time was in breach of a number of suspended sentences.