Man and woman appear in court charged with robbing Derry chemist

A man and a woman have appeared at Derry Magistrate’s Court charged with robbing a chemist in the city on January 10.
Elaine Bradley (41) of Altcar Park and David Comiskey (41) of 31a Chamberlain Stret both in Derry are charged with stealing a quantity of prescription drugs on that date.
Bradley was also charged with possessing an offensive weapon namely a hammer while Comiskey was charged with possessing a knife.
A police officer connected them to the charges and opposed bail.
He told the court that at 5.20 p.m. on Friday a male and a female entered the chemist in Great James Street and stole a quantity of drugs.
The male was holding a 6″ knife and the female was wearing a balaclava. A staff member pulled the balaclava of and recognised the woman as she had been in the chemist a few hours earlier.
The pair made of and a female member of staff tackled the woman and she produced a hammer.
Both were arrested nearby.
The police officer said that bail was opposed as Comiskey had 72 previous convictions and Bradley 126.
He said that staff in the chemist were ‘terrified’ if the pair were released they might return to the premises. Defence counsel for Comiskey Ms Nicola Rountree said her client had addiction issues but would abide by any conditions set by the court.
Solicitor for Bradley Mr. Keith Kyle said his client had a poor record but lived some distance away from the chemist.
The police officer said that both defendants had made admissions.
District judge Barney McElholm said it was ‘an extremely serious offence’ and given the records of both defendants he felt that there were no conditions he could impose that they would abide by. Both were remanded in custody to appear again on February 6.