A removalist accused of stabbing a woman in the head with a needle received one of the best birthday gifts a remand prisoner could hope for when he was granted bail just in time to spend Christmas with family.
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Liam Keogh Drummond's release from the Alexander Maconochie Centre came despite a court hearing that the alleged victim feared he would come to her home and threaten her.
Mr Drummond made his latest appearance in the ACT Magistrates Court on his 24th birthday last Tuesday, after about two-and-a-half months behind bars.
He is set to fight charges, including intentional wounding, laid over an alleged incident in Belconnen on October 6.
In documents tendered to the court, police say they were called to a unit by a woman who claimed Mr Drummond had attacked her daughter.
Officers say they arrived to find the "extremely agitated" 24-year-old "making erratic body movements and sweating profusely" in a stairwell.
During an attempt to handcuff him he allegedly pulled a syringe from his pocket, forcing officers to draw their Tasers and repeatedly demand that he drop the item.
Police claim that after Mr Drummond complied and was arrested, the alleged victim told them "he stabbed me in the head with a needle".
She is said to have claimed that the man had arrived at her place "acting crazy" and "off his face" on illicit drugs.
Officers say she told them that she and Mr Drummond had argued on a balcony, and that when she asked him to leave he punched her in the head while holding a needle.
"[The woman] felt funny, but can't describe the feeling. Her head hurt all over," court documents say.
Police described seeing "a small puncture wound to the right side of [the woman's] forehead, with blood surrounding it".
When Mr Drummond applied for bail last Tuesday, his defence lawyer conceded that the allegations were "quite serious".
But she said there were "weaknesses in the case", which would come down to "the complainant's word against my client's word".
The lawyer also said Mr Drummond had been "working tirelessly" in jail on his mental health and illicit drug issues.
She said he was hoping to attend a residential rehabilitation facility, but there had been some issues in finalising those arrangements while he was in custody.
Prosecutor Kiara Sheridan, opposing bail, described the allegations levelled at Mr Drummond as "disturbing".
She told the court it was lucky the alleged victim had not been infected with any blood-borne diseases.
Ms Sheridan said Mr Drummond had "continually screamed for the victim" after being arrested, then tried to contact her through his mother while in custody at the ACT watch house despite being warned not to.
"The defendant is happy to implicate his family in his offending," the prosecutor said.
"Given he knows where where [the alleged victim] resides, she believes he will come to the property and threaten her."
But Mr Drummond's lawyer said her proposed bail conditions, which included bans on contacting or being within 100 metres of the woman, were "strict enough to ameliorate any concerns the court may have".
Magistrate Robert Cook ultimately agreed, despite expressing some reservations.
Mr Cook said Mr Drummond's criminal record, which included robbery convictions, was suggestive of a man with issues of anger and "underlying violence".
But the magistrate acknowledged that Mr Drummond had "not been idle" during his stint on remand, and said bail conditions could address any perceived risks.
He imposed "considerably onerous" terms, including a prohibition on Mr Drummond being in Belconnen, a nightly curfew and a ban on alcohol and illicit drugs.
Mr Drummond is set to return to court for a contested hearing on his charges in February.
