'It's disgusting behaviour' judge tells man who urinated on Translink bus from Portadown and was aggressive to passengers

Stephen Lawrence Maughan, aged 32, from Oldpark Terrace, Belfast, appeared in custody in the dock before Craigavon Magistrates Court on Friday charged with criminal damage, disorderly behaviour and indecent behaviour.

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A Prosecutor told the court that on January 15 last year police contacted a Translink bus driver following a report he had made the previous night. The driver had contacted police because the defendant had refused to get off the bus and became aggressive towards other passengers preventing them from entering the bus.

Police viewed CCTV which showed the defendant urinating over two seats at the back of the bus which "caused other passengers to move away from him”.

Police were also told an ankle tag, the property of G4S, had been found in a large bag on the bus with the strap cut – with damage costing £104.50. The total damage to the bus, including cleaning and fitting a new seat, was £240.

District Judge Michael Ranaghan, when asked if he had a copy of Maughan’s criminal record, described it as more like a "booklet”.

Maughan’s solicitor pointed out that his client was subject to a suspended sentence which was activated on Tuesday when the defendant received a seven months custody for theft and had the five months suspended sentence activated. He is due to be released on June 15.

The solicitor also pointed out that the charges before the court on Friday pre-date that suspended sentence.

"It was reprehensible behaviour and behaviour he accepts was unacceptable,” said the solicitor, adding his client suffers from alcohol issues and "blacked out”.

District Judge Ranaghan said: “It’s disgusting behaviour.”

The solicitor said Maughan had gone to the bus driver and told him he needed to relieve himself. “However he takes a course of conduct which is unacceptable.

"His mental state wasn’t positive at the time. He had been suffering from the bereavement of an immediate member of his family. His record does him no favours and he has been on remand from December.”

The judge said: “You have saved Mr Maughan some additional time based on the way you have approached this today.”

He told Maughan that it was “disgusting behaviour”. “It was also quite frightening for the bus driver as well as members of the public who felt threatened by you having urinated over seats at the back of a bus. I can’t even go into that. I don’t know why people do such things.”

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The judge said he would take into consideration the chronology as outlined in court and would not add additional time. He sentenced Maughan to a five months jail term for all three charges.

“That means, in relation to these matters, you will have two and a half months to serve from today. That will not interfere with your release date as is.

"I am giving this rather lenient disposal based on the professed wish, on your behalf, to concentrate on your children. Given your criminal record it really is about time you did,” said the Judge who made a Compensation Order of £344.50 also imposing an immediate warrant of 14 days to run concurrent to the sentence imposed on Friday.