Man given bail after third arrest in month
POLICE found a North Geelong man asleep behind the wheel of his car with a stash of cannabis at his side in Leopold on Monday, a court has heard.
Matthew Hynes, 25, applied for bail in Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after officers arrested him the day before.
Magistrate Michael Coghlan heard it was the third time Mr Hynes had been apprehended in the past month.
On April 4, Mr Hynes was in a car pulled over after the alleged burglary of a home in Belmont.
The court heard drugs and allegedly stolen property were found in the vehicle, and Mr Hynes was bailed on charges, including counts of burglary, theft and drug possession.
Seventeen days later he was apprehended at a service station in Werribee after reports of erratic driving. He was charged with trafficking and possessing methylamphetamine and dealing in the proceeds of crime, and bailed with a curfew.
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Geoff Lamb said Mr Hynes and a female passenger were found asleep in a Holden Commodore beside Portarlington Rd at Leopold.
The court heard the suspended probationary licenceholder told officers he had hit a roadside railing and blown a tyre, forcing the car to a halt.
A search of the vehicle uncovered eight grams of cannabis and a taser — a prohibited weapon — the court heard.
Mr Hynes’ lawyer told the court his client’s “use of drugs is at the root of all his offending”.
Mr Coghlan said the offences this week did not demand a prison sentence and he was willing to release Mr Hynes on bail with “strict conditions”.
Those conditions include that he participate in a presentence program and report to police twice a week.
Mr Coghlan urged Mr Hynes to clean up his act while he had an opportunity.
“You might get yourself out of this hole you’ve been digging yourself into for the last four or five months,” he said.
“You’re right on the edge (at the moment).
“Which way are you going to go?”