A 29-year-old man accused of jumping into Lake Burley Griffin in an effort to evade police has been refused bail.
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Joe Daniel Rose, of Kambah, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Saturday facing five charges, including driving at police, failing to stop for police and theft.
Police say he later denied being the man they were looking for in the lake during the early hours of Monday morning, after they say he led them on a pursuit through Canberra's north.
Documents tendered to the court by police said that after midnight on Monday morning, police followed a black Hyundai - with number plates allegedly stolen on Christmas Day - from Limestone Avenue in Ainslie to Macarthur Avenue in O'Connor, where the car failed to stop.
Police then pursued the vehicle onto the Federal Highway and Majura Parkway, where officers used tyre spikes in an attempt to stop the car, the documents said. Police allege the car came to a stop at the Hackett shops about 1am.
The documents said the female driver and passenger from the Hyundai then ran to a waiting silver Kia, which police allege was being driven by Mr Rose. Police arrested the two women before they could get into the back seats of the Kia.
Police allege Mr Rose drove at a police officer after failing to stop, and then drove to the northern end of Kings Avenue Bridge with another female passenger, court documents said.
Officers pursued Mr Rose on foot before he then entered the lake. Police lost sight of him about 100 metres from the shore, where he appeared to be struggling, the documents said.
The Toll SouthCare Rescue Helicopter was called in as part of efforts to locate Mr Rose, but court documents said he could not be found.
Police continued to look for Mr Rose before scaling down the search operation at the lake, the documents said.
After police contacted his mother, Mr Rose arranged to meet with officers at his address in Kambah on Monday afternoon, court documents said. Police said Mr Rose denied being the driver who jumped into the lake.
Police allege Mr Rose's girlfriend hired the Kia and police said DNA and fingerprints collected from the car belonged to Mr Rose.
Mr Rose is also accused of stealing a wallet, driver licence, and credit cards from a car parked in the driveway of a Barton house, 550 metres from the edge of Lake Burley Griffin, at 5am on Monday.
Police allege Mr Rose then used one of the stolen credit cards to take a taxi from the Realm Hotel in Barton about 5.43am to an address in Lyneham. The stolen property was later recovered in Kaleen, court documents said.
A phone call made by one of the women arrested in Hackett from the Alexander Maconochie Centre also described Mr Rose as the driver, after the woman expressed concern in the call he could have drowned in the lake, police alleged.
Court documents said Mr Rose was arrested at his house in Kambah after police searched the property on Thursday.
Mr Rose's duty lawyer told the court Mr Rose had a serious drug dependency problem and was prepared to return to a residential rehabilitation clinic on the NSW Central Coast at his own expense.
The lawyer said a period of imprisonment would be very disruptive to Mr Rose's rehabilitation and it would be better for the community and Mr Rose for him to return to the Central Coast facility.
But Magistrate Glenn Theakston refused bail, saying Mr Rose had demonstrated a "willingness to do almost anything to avoid apprehension".
Mr Rose will next appear in court later this month.
Correction: This article has been updated to say Mr Rose drove a Kia with a single passenger.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
