Brian Carron, the 41-year-old Co Tyrone man charged with attempting to murder former senior PSNI detective John Caldwell, is to be released from custody, a High Court judge has ruled.

Mr Justice Huddleston granted bail with strict conditions, stating the tipping point in the case had been reached.

Detective Chief Inspector Caldwell was off duty in February 2023 when he was shot multiple times at a sports complex in Omagh. The attack, which happened after he had coached a youth football team, was witnessed by his son.

Caldwell retired from the police on medical grounds in December 2024.

The New IRA issued a claim of responsibility, though investigators believe other criminal groups helped target him.

Carron, of Claremount Drive in Coalisland, is one of several men charged over the shooting. He faces counts of attempted murder and membership of a proscribed organisation, and is also awaiting trial on separate explosives charges.

The prosecution case against him relies on vehicle movements, CCTV footage, associations with other suspects, a period of telephone inactivity around the time of the shooting, and a beanie hat seized from his home. Particle analysis indicated residue on the hat could share a source with particles found on Mr Caldwell’s clothing.

Defence barrister Des Fahy KC argued the evidence is circumstantial and weaker than that against other accused, and that the hat seen on CCTV differed from the one recovered. He said only Carron and one other sentenced prisoner remained in custody among 18 suspects, and that over three years of detention without trial was unjustified.

Granting bail, the judge imposed a series of measures: Carron must lodge £15,000 in cash sureties, report daily to police, surrender all travel documents, avoid contact with any co-accused, take up a construction job, and stay out of Omagh.