A man who says he walked from Goulburn to Canberra is behind bars after he allegedly marked his arrival in the capital by publicly knocking a woman unconscious in "a quite unprovoked assault".
James Dallas Robson, 31, was refused bail when he appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday.
He did not enter a plea to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, though he told the court: "It was stupid what I done, but I couldn't help meself."
In court documents, police say Mr Robson's alleged victim travelled by light rail into Civic on Thursday afternoon while "yelling and swearing indiscriminately".
The woman is said to have continued cursing as she hopped off the tram and headed across Northbourne Avenue into the Alinga Street bus interchange.
There, police say, she was seen kicking out at a dog that was not on a leash.
This allegedly prompted Mr Robson, the animal's owner, to approach the woman aggressively while yelling words to the effect of "don't f--- with my f---ing dog".
Police say the woman backed away from the 31-year-old man, who "charged towards her, planted his feet and threw his right fist forcefully" into her left cheek.
The blow apparently rendered the woman unconscious immediately, causing her to fall backwards and injure her head and right collarbone on the ground.
"[Mr Robson] was then observed to put his dog back on his lead and walk away from the area towards London Circuit," court documents say.
A witness rang police and followed Mr Robson in order to inform the call-taker of the alleged assailant's movements.
When officers caught up with the 31-year-old, who had blood on his knuckles and pants, they arrested him.
Different police members went to the bus interchange, where they say they found the "dazed and confused" alleged victim "sitting on the ground next to a significant pool of blood".
Mr Robson, who initially denied any knowledge of an assault, changed his tune in court on Friday morning.
The homeless man said he had been in the process of moving to Melbourne at the time of the incident, saying he was planning to get on a bus to go the rest of the way after walking from Goulburn.
He indicated he did not have enough money for a bus ticket so he decided to keep walking to Victoria, but the alleged victim "had a schizo attack for no reason" and he reacted.
"This has occurred and it's just stuffed me whole plans up," Mr Robson said.
Legal Aid duty lawyer Stephanie MacGougan applied for the 31-year-old to be released on bail, saying he would be willing to report to police in Victoria.
MORE COURT AND CRIME NEWS:
- 'Deluded' dad raped daughter dozens of times in 'disgraceful' incidents
- Amputee killed dog in 'brutal' attack after it chewed prosthetic leg
- 'Naive' businessman avoids time behind bars over identity thefts
- Sightseeing retiree allegedly assaulted police at anti-vax campsite
Mr Robson did most of the talking, however, telling special magistrate Jane Campbell he had "never skipped any bails before" and promising he would "not commit no further offences".
Prosecutor Lauren Knobel opposed bail for reasons that included concerns the 31-year-old would commit crimes and endanger the safety of others unless he was remanded in custody.
She played CCTV of the alleged assault to the court and indicated the charge was likely to be upgraded.
Ms Campbell, who refused bail, said Mr Robson had a history of violent offending and was likely to be jailed if convicted over what appeared to be "a quite unprovoked assault on a stranger in a public place".
The magistrate added that she was concerned the seriousness of the charge made it likely Mr Robson, a man who might not be easy to locate, would decide not to come back to court.
The case is next listed in court on February 25.
