A DOWNPATRICK man, branded in court as a ‘Walter Mitty character’ has received a suspended prison sentence for collecting information on people entering and leaving Ballykinler army base.
Twenty eight year-old Ryan Lavery admitted collecting information likely to be of use to terrorists after he was discovered to have five images of vehicles and a list of registration numbers.
None of the information was passed on to a third party, but Lavery, who was said to have an “attention seeking” personality and “fantastical notions”, was nevertheless handed a suspended jail term at Downpatrick Crown Court.
The court was told the defendant had been taking photographs of vehicles entering and leaving Ballykinler Army base.
Lavery, with addresses at Ballynoe Road, Downpatrick, and Burren Grove in Castlewellan, lived in a rented property close to the entrance of the base on Shore Road, which was subject to security restrictions at certain times of day due to its proximity to the camp.
The images were found on his computer and later, in December 2011, a list of 25 registration numbers was located inside a water cooler which he had rented.
When the list was compared to an analysis of vehicles entering and leaving the army base, it was discovered they matched and it was also written in Lavery’s handwriting.
It is not believed that any of the information was ever passed on to any third party.
However, a prosecutor noted that had the information Lavery recorded been obtained by terrorists, there could have been “potentially disastrous consequences”.
Defence counsel Eugene Grant QC said Lavery’s anxiety and personality disorder went some way to explaining why his fascination with certain topics went to “extreme ends”.
He explained that Lavery’s father had previously worked in the armoury of the base and said the defendant had a fascination with collecting military memorabilia.
Mr. Grant said the vehicles which Lavery was interested in may have seemed like “normal” vehicles to others, but were ones with which he had “a particular fascination”.
Taking the registration numbers appeared to be out of curiosity, the barrister added.
He added that Lavery had not been aware of security restrictions, which limited his use of the front living room of the property at certain times, when he moved in and this caused “constant interaction” with the Army and PSNI over the summer of 2011.
Mr. Grant said the defendant had also suffered broken bones in an accident and found not being able to use the front living room in the evenings “very uncomfortable”.
“These coincidences all coagulate right over that period,” he said.
Judge Gemma Loughran said that whilst she understood the context of the incidents, that “doesn’t excuse the crimes.”
She imposed a three-year sentence, suspended for three years.
Lavery was banned from residing within one mile of any Ministry of Defence establishment or within 500 yards of any police station, or loitering within 200 yards of such premises, for five years.