Andrew O’Keefe refused bail, claims self-defense on choking allegations

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Mr Chhabra further proposed a curfew, saying it would be “effectively house arrest” and Mr O’Keefe would not leave his apartment except to attend court or medical appointments.

In response, the Crown had argued Mr O’Keefe was “really unreliable” and “has a lot of personal problems, which he admits”, and that the program was not sufficient to deal with the drug addiction.

Mr Chhabra also submitted Mr O’Keefe has bipolar and substance abuse disorder, spent 2.5 hours outside of 42 days in custody, was exposed to “bullying and taunts” from Corrective Services officers because of his “previous profile” and suffered “reduced vision due to an altercation”.

“Whilst in current segregation, he appears to be in a wing where he’s surrounded by organized crime members, unwittingly private to conversations between two competing outlaw motorcycle gangs,” he said.

He cited his client’s police interview, submitting he “raises self-defence immediately” to officers in his explanation of the “fracas” in his apartment that arose from a disagreement over a $20,000 debt.

He said Mr O’Keefe had denied or refused to lend the woman money for her business, leading to her “starting, effectively, an assault”.

Mr Chhabra said that, on his client’s account, the woman was “throwing things” at Mr O’Keefe and grabbed items including scissors and a cricket bat.

“[It is] through his means of self-defence … trying to distract her, trying to disarm her, that he is injured. That is his account of what happened,” the lawyer said.

Justice Wright accepted Mr O’Keefe had suffered hardship in custody and considered his mental condition, adding that there may be “some plausibility” to the defense submission that photographs of his injuries were consistent with self-defence but the Crown case was not “overwhelmingly weak”.

He said the drug use was “unlikely to be addressed” with a short course in a facility and the matters raised would not constitute cause being shown unless a significant rehabilitation program was proposed, given it was submitted after the clinic Mr O’Keefe would be living alone without supervision.

The practicalities around a potential return to custody after the three-week clinic stay were considered, but the judge noted that was not the “nub of the issue”, rather the shortness of time.

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