UPDATE 9pm: A MAN charged with 37 offences has told the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court he was seeking bail to visit his grandmother.
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Blake Flower was arrested on Wednesday in relation to events that led police to a Kangaroo Flat address.
He represented himself in an application for bail, which was opposed by Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Chris Jones based on the accusations before the court.
The events related by informant Detective Senior Constable Matthew Goss began in the early hours of the morning on November 22.
Mr Flower and co-accused Lindsey Fisher were alleged to have driven to the post office in Junortoun just after 4am, where apparent plans to break in and steal cigarettes were disrupted by the manager.
The informant said the pair then drove towards Axedale, where they were alleged to have trespassed at a property at Kimbolton-Axedale Road and stolen four firearms and ammunition.
Firearms included a 12 gauge shotgun, a .223 calibre rifle, a .22 calibre rifle and a .243 calibre rifle.
They were also accused of stealing an unlocked ute and its contents from the address.
Police allege Mr Flower lost control of the ute while driving along Axedale Quarry Road, causing the vehicle to crash into a large tree.
He apparently rejoined Ms Fisher in the car she had been driving.
The pair stopped for a bathroom break, after which Mr Flower allegedly fired two shots into a shed.
They stopped again in Kangaroo Flat, where Mr Flower and Ms Fisher were alleged to have taken drugs, and police said Mr Flower cut the end off a shotgun.
Ms Fisher was arrested outside the entrance to the Lansell Square shopping centre in Kangaroo Flat following a three-car crash about 9.30am on Wednesday.
Mr Goss said the vehicle in which she and Mr Flower were travelling ran a red light.
Mr Flower was alleged to have run from the scene to a property 300 metres away, where he deposited the firearms in a wheelie bin.
He was then believed to have wheeled the bin to a property in May Street, Kangaroo Flat, where he was arrested.
Given the opportunity to prove why he ought to be bailed, Mr Flower expressed concerns for the health of his grandmother, who he said had dementia.
Magistrate Patrick Southey refused his application, citing an “unacceptable risk” of failing to meet bail conditions.
Mr Flower was remanded to appear at a committal mention on February 21.
Ms Fisher was bailed to the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on the same date, on eight charges. Police did not oppose her application.
UPDATE 3.26pm: A WOMAN arrested in relation to Wednesday’s events at Axedale and Kangaroo Flat has been granted bail.
Lindsey Fisher appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court this afternoon.
Bail was not opposed by police prosecutors, and was granted by Magistrate Patrick Southey.
Ms Fisher was bailed to re-appear before the court on February 21.
More to come.
UPDATE 1.50pm: A MAN has been refused bail in relation to Wednesday’s events at Axedale and Kangaroo Flat.
Blake Flower appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court this afternoon on a number of charges, including firearms and traffic offences.
Bail was opposed by the police prosecution, and was refused by Magistrate Patrick Southey.
Mr Flower was remanded to appear via video link for a committal mention on February 21.
More to come
EARLIER: Police have charged a man and a woman with multiple offences following a burglary and a three-car crash on Wednesday morning.
A 25-year-old Kangaroo Flat man has been charged by police with theft of firearms, using a firearm, possession of firearms, altering a firearm, possess ammunition, burglary, attempted burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, and failing to stop and render assistance, as well as traffic and driving offences.
Police have also charged a 21-year-old California Gully woman with theft of firearms, possession of firearms, possess ammunition, burglary, theft, theft of a motor vehicle and attempted burglary.
They will face Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
The charges were laid after a series of incidents in Axedale and Kangaroo Flat on Wednesday morning.
A property on the Kimbolton-Axedale Road was burgled between 5am and 5.30am, from where four firearms and a white utility were reported stolen.
The white ute was later found crashed into a tree on the nearby Axedale Quarry Road and witnesses reported seeing a blue sedan in the area.
About 9.30am, a three-car crash involved a blue Mitsubishi Lancer occurred on High Street, Kangaroo Flat, outside the entrance to the Lansell Square shopping centre.
Police arrested the female passenger of the Lancer at the scene.
A man was seen running into nearby May Street.
A short time later, police said they arrested a man in May Street and found four firearms in a wheelie bin.
A man in his 80s and a woman in her 50s were assessed by paramedics for minor injuries following the Kangaroo Flat collision, but neither were taken to hospital.