Police say these knives were seized from a man in Belconnen on Monday. Photo: ACT Policing.
A man who allegedly stole a bottle of alcohol from Dan Murphys in Belconnen Westfield before threatening staff was reportedly caught with 16 knives soon after.
He went into the bottle shop on Monday afternoon (11 August) before leaving with a stolen bottle, an ACT Policing spokesperson said.
“Two loss prevention officers followed the man and asked for the stolen item to be returned,” the spokesperson alleged.
“The man then allegedly pulled out a knife and threatened the two men, on two occasions.”
Police arrived and arrested the man a short time later.
When searching him, the officers allegedly found he had 14 knives in a duffle bag and two knives within his clothing.
The man, a 29-year-old from Hawker, faced the ACT Magistrates Court over an audio-visual link on Tuesday (12 August) with his hands in handcuffs.
He was charged with single counts of robbery and possessing an offensive weapon with intent, as well as 15 counts of possessing a knife without a reasonable excuse.
He applied for bail, which was opposed by the prosecution on the likelihood of him re-offending and endangering the safety and welfare of the community.
The court heard the man has a number of complex mental health conditions that are managed by the National Disability Insurance Scheme and a number of his previous charges have been dismissed by the court on mental health grounds.
Magistrate Alexandra Burt noted that he was very dependent on support services, but these supports hadn’t been able to prevent the allegations from occurring on this occasion.
She refused bail, marked him as a prisoner at risk due to his vulnerabilities and adjourned the matter to 4 September.
He has not been named due to the state of his mental health.
