Nicholas Keith Warner can travel back to the US after making bail in Northern Ireland
An American man accused of attempted murder in Northern Ireland while on his honeymoon is able to travel back home to the United States after making bail.
Nicholas Keith Warner, a native of South Carolina, was on his honeymoon with new wife Kaylee when they ran into trouble in Ballycarry, Co Antrim on August 11.
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The Ballymena Magistrates Court in Northern Ireland heard that there was an initial incident inside of a pub involving Keith Warner and his new wife Kaylee. The couple left through the front door, while the three men injured in the assault left through the rear.
Security camera footage showed that when a barman went to retrieve the Warner’s hired car, the three men involved in the incident ran after it. Video shows Warner on the ground, and one male circling him and kicking him the head. The video also shows Warner trying to remove himself from the situation, only to be pursued by the men.
The three men sustained stabbing injuries in the incident, which Warner and his defense team are calling self-defense.
Police confirmed that it was Warner who called the police and that the American was cooperative in their questioning. The honeymooner never denied that he had a knife in his possession.
Warner also sustained a broken leg in the incident and was using crutches when he appeared in court.
Warner faces six charges, including three attempted murder charges, possessing a knife, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and causing affray. The complainants in the attack were not named, but are known to be two men in their 30s, and one in his 60s.
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District judge Nigel Broderick of Ballymena Magistrates Court permitted 31-year-old Nicholas Keith Warner to go back to South Carolina on condition that he lodge a £4,000 (approximately $5,100) cash surety and surrender his passport to US police within three days.
Although the prosecution said Warner may not return for this October 4 court date, David Jones of the defense team insists that Warner “wants to clear his name.”
Jones also said Warner “has a workable defense that he was acting in self-defense of himself and his wife.”
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