Revealing the accused has 31 previous convictions, the prosecutor spoke of further offences committed whilst on bail, including threatening to kill his former partner
An application to vary the bail of a man charged with drug offences to allow him to go on holiday to Alicante was refused today.
Last January Gerald Verner was denied a bail variation sought to enable him to travel to Spain to help in the search for murdered Belfast man John George, whose remains were subsequently discovered on the outskirts of Alicante.
The 37-year old former soldier was back in court today where the application to vary his bail to allow him to go on a four-day holiday with his partner was made and refused.
From Inverary Avenue in Belfast, Verner is facing a number of offences including firearms and drugs charges. Asking for a variation of his client’s bail at Belfast Crown Court, a solicitor told Judge Mark Reel that Verner’s partner had booked a four-day trip to Alicante.
Providing details of the flight plans and the hotel, Verner’s solicitor said dates for the holiday were this Friday to next Monday.
Opposing the application, a Crown barrister raised several concerns including a risk of further offending.
Branding the two sets of offences faced by Verner as “very, very serious”, the prosecutor said these included charges of possessing firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life in May 2023.
It’s the Crown’s case that Verner was seen coming out of an address at North Street in Carrickfergus. He was stopped in a car where cannabis edibles were found on his person.
When the address in Carrick was also searched, further drugs were found along with an assault rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition, whilst more drugs were located during a search of Verner’s home.
Following his arrest, Verner refused to comment during interview but denied any knowledge of the gun and ammunition.
Revealing Verner has 31 previous convictions, the prosecutor spoke of further offences committed whilst Verner has been on bail, including threatening to kill his former partner.
She also raised concerns about the “significant disparities” regarding the details of the holiday in the initial application made to the PSNI compared to one presented in court today.
This included a change from an initial proposal of travelling to Malaga to the updated destination of Alicante.
The Crown barrister told Judge Reel: “We are very concerned, Your Honour, that his involvement in drugs and drug dealing, as charged for which he awaits trial, is linked to this proposed trip to Alicante.
“This court will be aware of the significant issues that have arisen in the last number of years in that part of the world, with some very high profile gang-related murders.”
In addition, the Crown barrister spoke of a previous application made by Verner regarding his bail condition of reporting to police.
During that, Verner’s defence made the case that due to his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental health issues, he could not travel on public transport.
The prosecutor said the court had not been provided with any updated information that this “aversion to travelling on public transport” has “improved so drastically to allow him to travel on an airplane.”
She added that if Verner was allowed to leave this jurisdiction, the police would have “no ability to monitor him” and that with his alleged link to drugs Verner would be heading to a “significant hotspot at the moment for such activity.”
The prosecuting barrister also reminded the court that “this is not the first time he has asked to go to Alicante”.
She said: “In January of last year he was refused permission to fly to Alicante and the purpose of his trip was to help search for the body of John George. That was refused on the basis of organised crime links.”
The Crown’s submissions concluded she told Judge Reel: “We have no confidence that Mr Verner could be telling the truth about where he is going and why he is going there and quite simply we cannot manage the risks that he poses should Your Honour grant this application.”
Verner’s solicitor then addressed the Crown’s concerns and said the holiday had been booked and paid for by Verner’s partner who initially wanted to go to Malaga but wasn’t able to get the right flights.
He told Judge Reel this was the only reason for the disparity and that the sole purpose of the trip was “nothing more that a short holiday with his partner … he has no ulterior motive or intention to do anything else.”
Pointing out his client has been on bail since 2023, the solicitor said this had been varied in the past to allow overnight stays in Northern Ireland including at a hotel and a glamping pod.
The solicitor then raised Verner’s PTSD which he said was “real” and which was a result of serving two tours in the army – one in Afghanistan and one in Iraq.
During these tours, the solicitor said Verner was both injured and witnessed a number colleagues being killed. He added that Verner “forces himself” to travel on public transport when necessary.
After Judge Reel questioned the differences in the travel plans, checks were made and it emerged that flights on the proposed dates of travel to and from Malaga were still available.
Saying he was refusing the application, Judge Reel said that as the holiday to Malaga “could have proceeded”, this called into question why an application to Alicante was now being made.
The Judge added: “I come to the conclusion that the applicant has been less than forthcoming with the court in terms of framing this application.”
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