A man arrested in a northside shopping centre on Tuesday after he was found in possession of a knife, steel post and stolen property has been remanded in custody.
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A member of the public alerted police to two men acting suspiciously at the Dickson Place shopping centre shortly before 4pm, ACT Policing said in a statement before the matter reached court.
They allegedly found 25-year-old Reid man William Shane Bushell to be in breach of bail and in possession of a knife, steel post, tools and suspected stolen property, including an ACT driver's licence and Commonwealth bankcard.
The court heard he was charged with possessing a knife without reasonable excuse, possessing an offensive weapon with intent, two counts of unlawful possession of stolen property, equipped for theft and breach of bail.
Bushell appeared before the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning, but didn't enter any pleas.
The court heard the "equipped for theft" charge carried the most significant potential sentence with a maximum two years jail.
Bushell's defence lawyer said he had been couch surfing with friends but was otherwise homeless.
Magistrate Beth Campbell said she was concerned about Bushell having no where to live after a previous stay in a psychiatric facility and adjourned the matter to give him extra time to prepare a "proper" bail application next week.
"If this were to be a bail application, I would refuse bail from what the prosecution has said and the likelihood to offend," she said.
"I'm happy to treat this as not an application for bail... to give him the best chance of it being granted."
Bushell told the court he had been living at Ainslie Village, but felt uncomfortable staying there.
The prosecutor told the court police had "serious concerns" about his homelessness and drug taking and Bushell was suspected of the aggravated burglary of an Australia Post in Civic.
"He appears to be committing offences to fund his drug habit and the homelessness is compounding the issues," she said.
"He has a fairly significant criminal history."
Bushell stormed from the court and could be heard yelling when he was taken back into custody.
The matter will return to court next Tuesday.
