A man accused of stealing a ute from a private property as the owner looked on has been denied bail.
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Brett Norman Collins, 19, was alleged to have entered an open garage in Macgregor about 1pm Friday and driven away a silver Holden Commodore ute, which had the keys left in it, despite yelling from the owner to stop.
He was arrested by police about 30 minutes later after returning to the Eccles Street townhouse complex and being found with the keys for a separate allegedly stolen car parked only 15 metres from the ute owner's home.
The defendant, from Macgregor, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Saturday charged with burglary, theft and unlawful possession of stolen property.
The ute owner said he had jumped to one side of the ute on Friday as he feared he would be run over, with the defendant narrowly missing a light pole as he drove out of the complex, court documents said. The defendant allegedly ran from the Eccles Street site when he later saw police, who were continuing to speak to the ute owner, the documents said.
When the ute owner caught up to the defendant and grabbed his jumper the accused allegedly hit the owner's arm before police intervened.
The second car, a white Toyota Corolla, had been reported as stolen from an address in Evatt on July 3, and when spotted on Friday was fitted with number plates themselves reported as stolen from a vehicle in Latham on July 11, court documents said.
Police found the Commodore ute on Friday afternoon on Waylen Place in Macgregor, about 800 metres from its owner's home. DNA and fingerprint test results from the ute were pending.
The duty defence lawyer said his client disputed the allegations, and that the keys the defendant held were given to him by a friend who had asked him to go and pick up the Corolla. No pleas were entered.
Prosecutor Chamil Wanigaratne said drugs appeared to be the motivating factor for the defendant's behaviour.
Magistrate Beth Campbell said the prosecution case appeared to be strong and the alleged offences were "fairly blatant behaviour". She refused bail, saying there was a likelihood of the defendant committing an offence and not appearing at court if released.
The matter returns to court on August 8.
