A Flora Hill man is accused of attacking another man over a drug debt while armed with a tomahawk - but the victim was not the person he was allegedly after.
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Mark Waycott, 35, made a successful application for bail in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court on Monday after being charged with the armed robbery of a man earlier this month.
About 1.30am on September 4, two victims were walking along Crook Street in Strathdale when a ute pulled up beside them.
It was alleged Mr Waycott began yelling at them and threatening to kill them from the tray of the ute. The victims fled and Mr Waycott allegedly gave chase, pursuing them into Sibley Place.
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It is alleged Mr Waycott found one of the victims and approached him, bearing a tomahawk, before punching him in the face multiple times.
Mr Waycott allegedly took the victim's phone and car keys, then left.
Police found the victim's keys and a tomahawk in a white ute, while his phone was found at the home of an acquaintance of Mr Waycott.
Police prosecutor Sally Mannell said enquiries established that Mr Waycott allegedly thought the victims were other people who he was hunting over a $150 drug debt.
The court heard Mr Waycott was a stranger to the victims.
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Defence lawyer Pam Hogan said Mr Waycott had stable accommmodation, the support of his partner - who she described as a "respectable young woman" - and would participate in the Court Integrated Services Program while on bail.
The charges and being held in custody for the first time, she said, had made him realise he needed to get clean of drugs.
Senior Constable Mannell said police opposed bail, alleging Mr Waycott presented an unacceptable risk of endangering the safety of any person, interfering with witnesses and offending on bail.
But magistrate Tim Walsh found the combination of factors put to him amounted to compelling reasons to grant Mr Waycott bail.
He said the risk of offending was not unacceptable given Mr Waycott's history and stringent bail conditions, which included reporting to police three times a week, a nightly curfew and participating in the court services program.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
