Ballymena Magistrates Court heard details of an alleged assault on February 21 at a John Street address in Ballymoney. Kurtis Irwin, 27, faces charges of possessing a hot iron as an offensive weapon with intent to commit assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Additional charges include assault occasioning actual bodily harm, attempted grievous bodily harm, false imprisonment, and theft of a mobile phone valued at £500.

The victim told police at Causeway Hospital in Coleraine that two males assaulted him overnight after he visited the address at midnight on February 20 to obtain tobacco. Irwin took the victim's phone, and another male punched him in the face. Irwin struck the victim in the face and tied his hands with rope.

Police stated Irwin inserted the victim's bank card into his mouth, plugged in a steam iron, placed a box over the victim's head, and held the hot iron near his back and face. The victim felt extreme heat and feared serious injury. The males later discussed further actions, assaulted him again, took his house key, and told him to leave.

Officers found the victim's phone under sofa cushions, blood-covered tissues in a bin, the bank card, and an iron in a kitchen cupboard. Police arrested the other male at the address, but Irwin escaped through a window. He evaded arrest again by jumping from a first-floor window during a later visit.

Irwin denied the offences in interview, stating he bought the phone from the victim for £80. A defence barrister said Irwin escaped the windows believing paramilitaries were at the door and claimed the co-accused committed the assault. The court refused bail and adjourned the case to later this month.

Police also accused Irwin of assaulting a person in a wheelchair on February 11, for which he received bail.