A WANGARATTA man arrested in the company of his partner who he had allegedly choked, pushed and harassed the day before, has been remanded in custody. Appearing virtually from custody at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court this week, the court heard the defendant was on six counts of bail for multiple alleged offences around theft, property damage and two alleged family violence offences on the same victim. Informant Senior Constable Lacie Evans of Benalla police appeared as witness and said an intervention order had been place between the couple, which only allowed the defendant in the presence of his partner of two years when not on drugs or alcohol. The court heard on September 11 at the victim’s Benalla address, an argument allegedly broke out after the defendant was seen with alcohol and was asked to leave. It’s alleged the Wangaratta man grabbed the victim by the hair as she attempted to leave, slammed her against a wall and pushed her against it by the neck. He allegedly took the victim’s phone as she attempted to leave and tossed it, damaging the device. The victim was allegedly able to leave the house and called police. A hole in the wall had allegedly been kicked in by the defendant as police and the victim entered the home, which the defendant allegedly fled. The next day, the defendant was then allegedly seen on Ryley Street, Wangaratta with the same victim, where he was arrested and taken into custody. Sen Const Evans said while the victim was yet to make a statement regarding the alleged offending, photos taken of the victim showed bruising consistent with the allegations and she was concerned if granted bail, the defendant would return with the victim in Benalla. Defence counsel Geoff Clancy said his client had been free of drugs for a number of months and denying access to Benalla and the affected victim would alleviate concerns of re-offence. Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Sarah Williamson said the defendant's history of offending while on bail and failure to attend court was cause for concern. “His compliance with bail is fairly appalling so I wouldn’t be confident he could comply on any conditions,” she said. The court heard the victim was in early-stage pregnancy with the defendant’s child. Magistrate Allison Vaughan denied bail and said the defendant was an unacceptable risk to the victim due to his alleged history of family violence and a failure of attending court when on bail. The matter will return to Benalla Magistrates’ Court on October 8.
