A homeless man caught with heroin and ice in his car at the Hume Highway border checkpoint has asked a magistrate for help.
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Kai Thorpe was arrested on his 21st birthday, which he spent in the Wodonga Police Station cells on December 27.
He was spoken to by officers about 8.35pm after he crossed in his vehicle from Albury into Wodonga.
The 21-year-old gave the checkpoint police a probationary licence and checks revealed he was suspended.
The officers were concerned about comments he made about suicide and he was detained under mental health laws.
A black-handled knife was seen in his black Mitsubishi, which was searched.
A brown substance, believed to be 4.14 grams of heroin, and 0.57 grams of meth were found.
Thorpe repeatedly tried to stand up and flee during the search and was eventually handcuffed and taken to hospital for a mental health assessment.
He was released a short time later with the checks not revealing any issues.
It followed an incident 16 days earlier at his grandmother's assisted living home in Melbourne.
He had abused her and tried to get into the home, which she refused, but returned and pushed his way past her.
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His grandmother banged her arm and was left with bruising.
Lawyer Mario Vaccaro told Wodonga Magistrates Court his client had spent a month living with his grandmother, and had now burnt that bridge, after having a falling out with his parents.
He was living out of his car and Mr Vaccaro said he was "very unsettled" at the time of his arrest.
"I think they'd had enough of him, basically," Mr Vaccaro said of Thorpe's parents.
"Whether it's him or them ... I don't know about that relationship but they're certainly not supportive."
Thorpe had denied all allegations made by police following his arrest in Wodonga and said someone must have put the heroin in his bag.
Mr Vaccaro said his client had been using ice for a year but not heroin.
Thorpe said he had bipolar and other mental health issues, but Mr Vaccaro said he didn't appear to have a formal diagnosis.
Thorpe asked "is it alright if I go to a psych ward or something?"
"I honestly just need all the help I can get," he told magistrate David Faram.
"That's all I want to be honest."
The case will return to court on Thursday.