Warwick Van Hala, 34, had only been free on bail for days before the incident, the ACT Magistrates Court heard on Friday.

Detective First Constable Grant Bluett told the court there were significant concerns surrounding Van Hala, who had been released on bail on May 29 after being arrested for two aggravated robberies.

Detective Bluett said police were called about one week later in relation to an aggravated robbery in Forrest, allegedly committed by Van Hala while a person was sleeping inside.

He said a resident arrived home to find a man standing in her driveway. He told her he was looking for a dog, before shouting a name and running away.

“When she went in, she saw several rooms had been searched,” he said.

The woman reported that the contents of a piggy bank had been stolen, along with a watch and a heart rate monitor.

Detective Bluett said Van Hala was meant to be living at his mother’s house, but when police contacted his parents they said he had not slept there for three nights.

Van Hala was arrested for breach of bail on Thursday, in what his defence lawyer described as a “quite a cooperative arrangement”.

He said his client was living with his parents and receiving Newstart allowance, though there was the “possibility of employment in the very near future”.

He said Van Hala was undergoing cognitive change sessions and asked Magistrate Bernadette Boss to allow his client to stay out of custody in order to attend them.

“He has a long, long history of offending,” he said.

“… If he goes back inside, this cycle of offending will continue.”

However the lawyer for the prosecution said no evidence of the sessions had been received.

Dr Boss denied bail, citing concerns relating to reoffending and Van Hala’s urine analysis which contained amphetamine and cannabis, as well as an additional substance.

She ordered Van Hala to reappear in court on June 28.