An alleged car thief found hiding under blankets at his home has broken a court microphone in a fit of rage after being refused bail.
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Nicholas Josef Peter, 26, appeared before the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday, charged with taking a motor vehicle without consent and accused of breaching a good behaviour obligation.
Peter had previously been sentenced to a period of seven months' imprisonment for furious and reckless driving, and was released in 2021 after entering into a good behaviour order for 12 months.
Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker issued a warrant for the arrest of Peter on September 5 after he failed to "accept supervision".
The next day, Peter allegedly entered the yard of Gemini Kingston Auto Body Shop about 4.42pm.
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Police claim CCTV shows him walking into the area where car keys were kept, and leaning briefly into it.
As Peter walks away from the area, he is allegedly seen running into an auto shop employee he knows and shaking his hand.
About seven minutes after Peter arrived at the auto shop, a navy blue 2021 Mazda CX5 can be seen driving from the back of the yard and out the main gates.
Police say they located the "dirty and carelessly parked" car in Conder about 11.19am on Tuesday.
A resident on the street approached police, saying they saw the car arrive at about 10.20am that day, when a man wearing a "black hooded top and black pants" got out and entered a home.
At about 12.07pm police entered that home but did not find Peter, instead speaking to a resident who would only tell them the man who had entered "was Nick".
On Wednesday at about 4.30pm, police who again attended the home and spoke with the occupant formed the belief Peter was inside.
When police were allowed to enter by the occupant, they located Peter "concealed under a number of blankets in a bedroom".
Police arrested Peter, who faced court via audio-visual link from a remote room within the court building on Thursday.
After special magistrate Margaret Hunter refused to grant him bail, Peter said he was "not guilty".
The video disconnected and the next defendant was unable to be heard in the court because, according to Ms Hunter, Peter had broken the microphone because he was "not happy" about her decision.
Peter is due back in court at a later date.
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Olivia Ireland
Olivia is a reporter for the Canberra Times. She has covered federal politics and public sector, court and crime, local news, arts, education and business. Olivia started as an intern in August 2021 and began her career with the Times after completing her studies in November 2021.
Olivia is a reporter for the Canberra Times. She has covered federal politics and public sector, court and crime, local news, arts, education and business. Olivia started as an intern in August 2021 and began her career with the Times after completing her studies in November 2021.
