Ben Quigley refused bail, must enter plea when case next mentioned in week's time

Ben Quigley was arrested late on Monday after he eventually came down off the roof of an Albury motel.

He had accessed the roof through a skylight inside the bathroom of one of the motel's units.

A bail application hearing in Albury Local Court on Wednesday, September 6, heard of an incident Quigley was involved in back on February 20.

When police entered an address in Wodonga, prosecutor Sergeant Kayla Borchert said, "the offender tried to enter the roof cavity" to get on to the roof.

He "ingested illicit substances" and was taken to Wodonga hospital, where he remained for a couple of days.

Quigley became distressed when refused bail by magistrate Melissa Humphreys, who cited several reasons including his non-compliance with previous court orders in Victoria.

He had already repeatedly interrupted Ms Humphreys, Sergeant Borchert and his own lawyer, Graham Lamond, prompting a warning from the magistrate that his microphone would be muted if he did not stop.

Ms Humphreys, on refusing bail, also highlighted the fact there wasn't a community treatment plan in place to address Quigley's mental health issues.

At one point during the standoff, she said, referring to the police outline of their allegations against him, Quigley yelled out to police from the roof: "Come up here and I'll slit my throat."

He had also claimed his back was injured during an altercation with Victoria Police, which was why he did not want to be arrested.

Instead, he wanted to be free on bail so he could simply walk into the Wodonga station.

Earlier, defence lawyer Graham Lamond said no plea would be entered at this stage to the charge of possessing an offensive weapon to avoid apprehension.

But after he was refused bail, Quigley, who appeared via a video link to the Albury police station dock, changed his mind.

"I'll plead guilty now, your honour," he said, "take me back to Victoria Police now."

Ms Humphreys told Quigley that he would need to discuss his case further with Mr Lamond if he wanted to enter a plea.

The court heard previously how Quigley was being arrested over outstanding warrants from Wodonga, connected to domestic violence matters, when he took to the roof of the Burvale Motor Inn on Monday afternoon.

At his brief appearance on Tuesday, September 5, magistrate Sally McLaughlin ordered that Quigley be taken to Albury hospital to be assessed as he "may be a mentally disturbed person and may be mentally ill".

But Quigley, 31, was returned to custody after that assessment found he was not mentally ill.

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That decision was sharply criticised by Mr Lamond, who said at the very least his client was mentally disturbed.

"His mental state this morning is still not any good," he said.

Mr Lamond said it was of "grave concern" that the person who made the assessment of Quigley did not provide a mental health report for his community care.

He said his experience with Quigley made clear "there is something mentally wrong with this gentleman".

Mr Lamond, on applying for bail, said Quigley would be able to be live with his partner, who again was in court and was able to provide a surety of $2000.

At this point, Quigley again interrupted proceedings.

"Please," he said to Ms Humphreys, "can I just be back with (my partner) and do what I have got to do?

"I just ask that, please, I need my back better, I need to get my health better.

"I just want to prove to you I am not joking around."

Quigley will be required to enter a plea when his case is next mentioned on Wednesday, September 13.

He was remanded in custody and will appear next time via a video link.

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