A man jailed for manslaughter returned to custody just three months after his release for allegedly fleeing police and drunkenly crashing into another vehicle.
Joshua Higgins, 35, was on parole when police were called after reports he was allegedly dangerously driving down Hindmarsh Drive last month, honking at other vehicles.
On Friday, Higgins faced the ACT Magistrates Court and was refused bail.
The man did not enter pleas to a swathe of driving offences, including drink driving, dangerous driving, failing to stop a motor vehicle for police, and failing to give particulars to other drivers at the scene of a crash.
According to police documents, officers found Higgins on the Woden thoroughfare last month after receiving "frantic" directions from members of the public on the scene.
He allegedly failed to stop his car for officers and is said to have overtaken a vehicle in the middle of an intersection.
Police spikes were laid down on a road near the Woden Westfield, but Higgins allegedly swerved into incoming traffic to avoid them before driving the wrong way down a one-way street, forcing other vehicles to mount the gutter.
Higgins is then accused of crashing head-first into a stationary vehicle outside Betty's Burgers, before reversing and driving off down the street. He was later found asleep in the car outside his home, where he was arrested by police.
The court heard he blew a level four blood alcohol reading, the highest drink driving category in the ACT.
Higgins had only been out of prison on conditional release for just over three months at the time of the alleged crash, the court heard on Friday, after being handed an eight-year jail term for manslaughter in 2021.
Magistrate Jane Campbell refused bail on the grounds that even the convicted killer's parole conditions hadn't been enough to keep him from allegedly offending.
She noted it was disappointing Higgins hadn't been able to access the services of a psychiatrist when he was released on parole.
"Alcohol is creating a problem for him," she said.
Higgins interjected loudly as the magistrate read out her decision, asking "how the f--" he was supposed to access rehabilitation services in prison.
A prosecutor said many of Higgin's previous offences were committed while he was on parole, and there was a clear pattern of the man committing crimes while drunk.
"The court can't have a lot of faith that pattern isn't going to continue," she said.
The prosecutor argued the welfare of others was "at no point" a concern for the alleged drunk driver, and the man's engagement with support services could not be verified due to the anonymity of the services.
Legal Aid lawyer Sam Brown said his client was "doing reasonably well" in his reintegration into the community and was working a full-time job before he was arrested.
Mr Brown acknowledged Higgins was on parole for an "incredibly serious" offence, but argued the lack of availability of psychiatric services had been detrimental to the man.
Higgins is set to return to court at a later date.
