An Oaks Estate man may face a contempt of court charge after he threatened and swore vehemently at the magistrate who refused his bail application on Saturday.
Jeremy Smith, 32, who had been rearrested by police on a warrant after he had failed to appear on theft charges on October 4, was initially apologetic to the magistrate and the court during his appearance.
He had been arrested on Friday afternoon after police searched an Oaks Estate flat and allegedly found the defendant hiding under a bed.
Previously, he had been due to appear on charges of allegedly shoplifting Ralph Lauren clothing to the value of $1077 on September 4.
During the bail application, the public defendant argued that Smith deserved another chance and that he had an appointment with an employment service on Monday which "could be a turning point in his [Smith's] life".
He suggested to Magistrate Robert Cook the alternative of imposing more onerous bail conditions.
However, prosecutor Kiara Sheridan pointed to Smith's previous convictions and a demonstrated inability to comply with previous bail requirements.
Smith protested loudly and lengthily, to the point where the magistrate had to mute the microphone in the video feed from the ACT court cell.
When it became clear that the magistrate was to refuse his bail, Smith then snarled "I'll smack your face in!", and "F--- you, you dog!" before being led off-screen by two Corrections officers.
Magistrate Cook suspended the court and said that he would give Smith "some time to cool down and apologise" and should the defendant fail to do so, he would consider contempt charges.
