A Canberra man accused of helping hold up a chicken shop at machete-point and fleeing in a stolen car has been locked up on remand.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Christopher Kelly was already on a good-behaviour order from an earlier armed robbery when he and a teenager allegedly robbed Kingsley’s Chicken in Weston.
Police allege Kelly and a 17-year-old entered the store with their faces covered about 9.20 on the night of October 31.
The ACT Magistrates Court today heard Kelly, 19, snatched the till containing more than $1000 while the other teenager pointed the machete at the cashier.
They then left the scene, and a parked motorist allegedly spotted them getting into a green Subaru Liberty with two other people and driving away.
The court heard the station wagon was stolen from outside the Tuggeranong Hyperdome earlier that day.
It is alleged the group later dumped the car in Rivett, where police would later find it idling and unlocked, and called a cab.
Police later pulled over the taxi and found four males inside, allegedly including Kelly and his 17-year-old co-accused.
A police witness said the shirt, gloves and shoes found in Kelly’s possession at the time matched those worn by the offender captured on the shop’s CCTV cameras.
Police took Kelly and the others into custody but released them pending further inquiries.
On November 1 it is alleged the machete was pulled out of a dog kennel in a Rivett backyard and a latent print matching the 17-year-old was allegedly found on the stolen car.
Kelly presented himself to police at the Tuggeranong Police Station on Saturday, where he was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery.
Police on Monday opposed bail, saying there was a risk he might flee the territory or interfere with witnesses – particularly his co-accused.
The court heard he allegedly told police he wanted to go to Darwin, a claim Kelly disputed from the bar table.
His lawyer told the court there was no factual basis for alleging Kelly might interfere with witnesses.
She said he was prepared to abide by strict bail conditions.
But the Magistrate Bernadette Boss said the risk was too great.
“The incentive for a defendant who essentially appears to have no fixed abode is particularly strong to abscond out of the jurisdiction in these circumstances,” she said.
Dr Boss refused him bail, and the matter is due back in court at a later date.