A "self-interested" woman claims she was only sitting in the driver's seat of a stolen car because it was cold outside and a big dog was stopping her smoking in the back.
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But Tori Jayne Barbra Ford's explanation did not fly with the magistrate who revoked her bail on Monday morning.
Ms Ford was appearing in the ACT Magistrates Court on a fresh charge of failing to comply with a public health direction, having been arrested on Sunday afternoon.
The 28-year-old was already on bail at that time in relation to 10 other charges, one of which was another allegation of flouting the ACT's lockdown restrictions.
Prosecutor Lauren Knobel told the court one of Ms Ford's bail conditions prohibited her driving or being in the driver's seat of a motor vehicle.
She said police had, however, spotted Ms Ford in the driver's seat of a car without any number plates on it in Taylor.
Ms Knobel said Ms Ford should not have been with the woman who was beside her in the front passenger seat, or the man who was sitting in the back with a dog, because they all lived in different households.
Checks on the vehicle revealed it was stolen, she said, while the car was also found to contain suspected illicit drugs, a tomahawk and a set of apparently altered number plates.
"The defendant is continually acting in a fashion that shows a disregard for the orders of the court and the public health orders," the prosecutor said.
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Legal Aid lawyer Elizabeth West opposed Ms Knobel's application to revoke bail, labelling Sunday's breach "minor".
She said she had been instructed that Ms Ford was waiting for a lift home after lawfully staying the night in Taylor with her intimate partner.
Ms West accepted "dodgy things" had been found in the stolen car, but she said no link between them and Ms Ford had been established.
The lawyer also said Ms Ford had not driven the car and had no intention of doing so.
Ms West told the court the 28-year-old had only been behind the wheel because it was "particularly cold" outside, the front passenger seat was occupied and she could not sit beside the man because of "the big dog in the back".
"She was simply having a cigarette in that vehicle with those persons," Ms West said.
The Legal Aid lawyer added that Ms Ford may not have understood her bail conditions prevented her from simply sitting in the driver's seat.
She also said the ACT's lockdown restrictions were something many members of the public were struggling to understand.
But magistrate Beth Campbell was not convinced Ms Ford had failed to understand anything.
"The reality is that [Ms Ford] is an experienced player in the criminal justice system," Ms Campbell said.
She said she believed Ms Ford had already driven the stolen car or was going to.
"Her self-interest seems to be well above that of the rest of us," Ms Campbell said.
"I have no confidence that she won't continue to commit offences or breach conditions."
The magistrate accordingly remanded Ms Ford in custody until future court dates on Wednesday and in November.
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