Cuffs no help in flee bid

A MT Moriac man tried to do a runner from police with his arms handcuffed behind his back after being arrested doing an alleged drug deal in central Geelong on Sunday morning.

Geelong Magistrates’ Court heard Jack Pegg, 20, bolted from James St after six bystanders confronted the two police officers trying to restrain him and a co-accused.

But the man only made it as far as Moorabool St, where other police arrested him.

Detective Senior Constable Scott Gray told court he was one of the officers who found Mr Pegg with the other man down a laneway off James St about 4.35am.

He said the accused had 7.69g of ecstasy on him and almost $2500 cash.

Although he denied the drugs were his, the court heard he told officers he had been on a heroin binge in celebration of his brother’s 18th birthday.

Sen-Constable Gray said the accused man “violently struggled” in the attempt to arrest him, and was “aggressive, evasive, ignorant and abrasive” in his dealings later at the Geelong Police Station.

He was charged with trafficking and possessing ecstasy, dealing in the proceeds of crime, resisting and escaping police. He applied for bail yesterday.

The man’s older sister told the court her family did not trust banks and were known to carry large sums of cash.

While the man allegedly told police he was unemployed, his sister said he worked as a kitchen hand at a restaurant in Grovedale.

Magistrate Ann McGarvie agreed to release the man on bail into the care of his sister and mother.

Mr Pegg must be at the Mt Moriac address between 8pm and 6am. He is also barred from licensed venues and the Geelong CBD, and is not allowed to drink or use drugs.

He will return to court January 24.