A Portland man plans to contest charges he robbed a woman at a tobacco shop where her two infant children were present.
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Maxwell McKenzie, 41, of Wattle Crescent, Portland, appeared in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Monday where he made his second unsuccessful bail application in as many months.
Mr McKenzie was refused bail on November 5 last year and has remained in custody for the last 73 days.
His lawyer said Mr McKenzie planned to contest the charges and if not released on bail, he could spend more time in custody on remand than he would ultimately be sentenced to.
Mr McKenzie is accused of attending a Portland tobacco shop on November 1 and threatening to kill a shop attendant before stealing $50.
The alleged incident occurred just one month after he was released from prison after serving 26 months for assault.
Detective Acting Sergeant Jarrod Anderson, of the Portland police crime investigation unit, said Mr McKenzie had a problem with alcohol and anger management, and had left the victim terrified for her own safety.
The court heard Mr McKenzie was willing to abide by strict bail conditions and was accepted into a treatment-based Court Integrated Services Program.
But police prosecutor Sergeant Sandy Skilton said Mr McKenzie had 25 pages of prior criminal history and had been given ample support opportunities, including an extensive community corrections order.
Magistrate Mark Stratmann refused bail, stating the accused was an unacceptable risk to the community and of committing further offences while on bail.
Mr McKenzie was remanded in custody until February 25.
Detective Acting Sergeant Anderson told the court Mr McKenzie was heavily intoxicated, and in possession of a fishing rod and a knife, when he entered the tobacco shop with his 18-year-old son Ethan.
He said Mr McKenzie was yelling out and the woman in the shop asked him to be quiet as her twin infant children were asleep in the rear of the building.
Mr McKenzie called the woman a derogatory name, said he had a gun in his pocket and that he would shoot her if she didn't shut up.
There was a disagreement over cigarettes and the woman handed over $50 after alleged demands by the accused.
The twins woke up and started to cry.
The incident was captured on security camera footage.
Mr McKenzie was later arrested at the Iron Bar where he resisted officers before eventually being overpowered and handcuffed.
He was charged with robbery, making a threat to kill, acting in a disruptive manner in a police station after throwing a cup of coffee in an interview room and two counts of resisting emergency workers on duty.
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