A BLACKFELLOWS Caves man has been refused bail after he threatened to shoot a police officer who was attending a domestic incident involving the same offender.
Fredrick Ogle, 60, appeared in police custody in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court after being arrested for assaults, threatening a police officer and firearms charges.
The prosecution said police were called to a premises in Blackfellows Caves following reports of an assault on a female.
A police officer attended and located the defendant, victim and another witness at the property.
When the officer was attempting to take a statement from the female victim, Ogle started showing a level of aggression towards him.
“He was shaping up to him in a boxing stance,” the prosecution said.
It is alleged Ogle then threatened the police officer’s life.
“He said to the witness ‘I’m going to grab my guns and shoot that bastard’ and pointed at the police officer,” the prosecution said.
The witness disclosed the threat to the police officer and warned him Ogle had firearms at a property 250 metres away.
The sole police officer then loaded the witness and victim into his vehicle and left the scene as a matter of urgency.
When police returned to the address they found it had been broken into and a television and speaker had been damaged.
While a charge had not yet been laid in relation to the break-in and property damage, the prosecution said blood on the speaker would be a key piece of forensic evidence.
Defence counsel for Ogle made an application for bail on Wednesday and asked for Ogle to be released to a property at Blackfellows Caves.
The prosecution opposed bail to the location.
“We consider it a serious threat against a police officer by a person with a means to carry out that threat,” the prosecution said.
“Safety of the police officer is a (current) issue.”
Despite the defendant’s lack of criminal history, Magistrate Teresa Anderson agreed an address at Blackfellows Caves was not suitable.
“It is a very small community at Blackfellows Caves,” Magistrate Anderson said.
“It is not a suitable address for bail.”
The application was refused, however Magistrate Anderson said she would tentatively consider bail to an address in Victoria, but it would require a large cash surety.
She adjourned the matter until Tuesday to allow defence counsel to explore other potential bail options.
