Colin Aaron Charles, 38, of Mooroopna, successfully applied for bail in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court this week.
He is charged with aggravated car-jacking with a weapon, car-jacking while causing fear to a person, two counts of armed robbery, two counts of assault, two counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of threatening to inflict a serious injury, criminal damage, theft, and theft of a motor vehicle.
Shepparton Crime Investigation Unit’s Detective Senior Constable Paul van Emmerik told the court Mr Charles and a co-accused went to a Shepparton home where they threatened a man with an acquired brain injury and his carer and demanded keys to the disabled man’s car on August 4 last year.
Det Sen Constable van Emmerik said Mr Charles’ co-accused held the claw hammer centimetres from the carer’s face while demanding keys to the Holden sedan, and also snatched the carer’s phone from him.
Police allege Mr Charles then ripped a dummy CCTV camera and a live-feed-only one from their mountings, while the co-accused continued to threaten the disabled man with the hammer, telling him “if you don’t give us the keys we’ll cave your head in”, Det Sen Constable van Emmerik said.
The co-accused then told the victims they would return in 10 minutes to collect the keys and if they were not given them they would assault the carer and then “run through the house”, Det Sen Constable van Emmerik said.
The court heard when the pair returned they were given the keys and drove off in the car.
Before leaving, the co-accused told the victims there “would be retaliation” if they got the police involved, Det Sen Constable van Emmerik said.
The accused was identified by both victims from police photo boards shown to them.
The court heard police spotted the stolen Holden two days later being driven erratically in Shepparton, before it was abandoned.
DNA from items in the car were forensically linked to Mr Charles and his co-accused, the police officer said.
The court also heard Mr Charles had been released on a community corrections order 13 days before the alleged offending.
He said Mr Charles’ “violent behaviour” was concerning to police.
Defence barrister Manny Brennan said Mr Charles denied being involved in the offending, but admitted being there.
“At highest, he tore off the cameras and got into the vehicle,” he said.
Mr Brennan said there would be a significant delay of close to two years before the matter went to trial.
He also told the court his client had the support of his sister, with whom he could live, as well as NDIS support and a Justice Plan.
The court also heard Mr Charles’ step-father was terminally ill and the possibility he may never see him again would “weigh heavily on him”.
Charles was granted bail on conditions that he live with his sister, not associate with his co-accused, abide by a 10pm to 6am curfew, not drive and not contact witnesses for the prosecution.
Mr Charles is currently serving a jail sentence for another armed robbery matter, with November 24 his earliest release date in that matter.
His bail will begin once he is released from prison on his other sentence.