Accused set for five court hearings on five separate days

THE Toowoomba Magistrates Court will become a familiar place for a Toowoomba man who has had five separate trials set down for November.

The self-represented Matthew Anthony Banner had spent Monday night in custody after he surrendered to police on three warrants having failed to appear in court.

The 33-year-old told the court he had emailed the court on each occasion and was not pleading guilty to the charges.

He had also not entered pleas to a number of charges including obstructing police, assaulting police, wilful damage of police property and public nuisance.

Banner complained that he hadn’t received all the material he had requested from police but police prosecutor Nicola Prince told the court the prosecution had handed over all the material to be relied upon.

He also complained that he needed more time to prepare his cases.

“I’m not guilty, Your Honour,” he protested from the dock to Magistrate Kay Ryan.

“The court is not here for your convenience, Mr Banner,” Ms Ryan countered.

When Banner protested to Ms Ryan that “I’ve got things to do”, Ms Ryan told him she had things to do also with a busy court and ordered the 33-yearold be taken back to the watch house until after the lunch adjournment.

Banner was returned to the court in the afternoon and asked for hearings on all charges.

The court heard that to facilitate his request the court would have to have five separate hearings on five separate days.

He was granted bail to front court for hearings on November 5, 11, 12, 18 and 22.