Police who had to draw their guns to deal with a violent man want his case to be heard in a jurisdiction which could send him to jail for more than five years.
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Keith King was arrested in Wodonga on September 11 after he allegedly stole a car from a Castle Creek Road garage and slammed it through a closed roller door as an officer fired shots at the vehicle.
The stolen car damaged three other vehicles, including one belonging to police.
The 22-year-old appeared in Wodonga Magistrates’ Court via video-link from Melbourne Assessment Prison on Monday, without the bruises and bloodstains evident in his last court appearance a month ago.
King sat with his arms crossed throughout the hearing, only speaking to say “yes” when the magistrate asked if he could hear proceedings.
Police wanted to send his 38 charges, including dangerous driving and reckless conduct endangering life, up to be heard in the County Court.
Magistrate John O’Callaghan said the decision would come down to whether King deserved a longer jail sentence than the five-year limit which could be imposed by the lower court.
Barrister Sally Wilson said charges such as King’s were regularly heard in the Magistrates’ Court.
“There is absolutely nothing there that must go upstairs,” she said.
“There’s no single charge that actually necessitates that, so I’m baffled.”
The case was delayed further because Mr O’Callaghan, who will stop presiding over North East courts from January, could not make a call on jurisdiction without being bound to hear the rest of the case next year.
Police asked for the decision to be made after evidence was tested at a committal hearing, but the magistrate said that would be a waste of resources.
Any hearing could run for about three days and force witnesses to appear in court, which would not be necessary if King chose to plead guilty.
The court heard more than 20 witnesses were yet to give statements in the case, but the police investigator was about to go on five weeks leave.
Mr O’Callaghan said he would not grant a extension to allow police extra time to gather evidence when another officer could fill in.
Ms Wilson said the brief of evidence was only half completed.
“There is no way they should get more than normal time,” she said.
“My client, in the meantime, is sitting on remand.”
The case was adjourned for a committal mention in December.
