A MAN who allegedly drove erratically while verbally abusing his elderly mother has been released on bail so he can undergo a psychiatric assessment.
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The 49-year-old man appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court this week after he was charged with offences including aggravated burglary.
The court heard on April 23 this year, the man was evicted from a central Victorian caravan park where he had been staying in his mother's caravan.
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When the man's mother returned to her home, she found her son inside the house after he allegedly broke in through a rear door.
Police alleged the man began verbally abusing his mother, so she called police and they attended a short time later.
But the court heard the woman told officers she no longer needed their support as her son had calmed down.
The man spent the night sleeping in the lounge room and he allegedly became verbally aggressive the next morning when she asked him to move.
Police alleged on the drive home from collecting the woman's caravan, the man began driving erratically.
The man allegedly refused to stop the car and turned up the radio's volume when the woman tried to call 000.
The court heard it was only when the woman grabbed the man's cigarettes and threatened to throw them out of the window that the man stopped the car.
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Police alleged he grabbed the woman by the arm to get his cigarettes back.
She was allegedly crouched on the ground with the man standing over her when she was able to flag down a police officer.
The court heard the man was arrested and remanded in custody. A family violence safety notice was issued, with the man's mother listed as the protected person.
The man was also in March charged with contravening a family violence order and breaking into a property.
Defence lawyer Christine Callaghan told the court the prison had recommended the man be taken to hospital for a psychiatric assessment.
Ms Callaghan said the man had already been in custody for 12 weeks and it was important that he received the appropriate mental health treatment.
The defence lawyer said the man would be transported from prison to the hospital via an ambulance.
Magistrate Daniel Muling said he was satisfied the man should be released on bail so he could have a psychiatric assessment and treatment.
The man was bailed to the hospital. He is due to return to the Bendigo Magistrates' Court next month.
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