ACQUITTED of murder just eight weeks ago, Newcastle man Emmett Sheard is back behind bars accused of being involved in an aggravated break and enter on the Central Coast.
Mr Sheard, 30, who was in July found not guilty of murdering fellow inmate Michael Black at Parklea Correctional Centre in 2020, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with aggravated break and enter and commit serious indictable offence.
He did not enter a plea when he appeared in Newcastle Bail Court on Thursday via audio visual link from Newcastle police station.
But Mr Sheard, who is currently on parole, did apply for bail, with his lawyer, Kevin Vierboom, labelling the prosecution case "weak" and the 30-year-old's alleged connection to the break-in "extremely tenuous".
He said CCTV footage at the premises, which police reference in court documents, did not show Mr Sheard leaving the premises and the documents did not say who allegedly identified Mr Sheard.
Mr Vierboom said if granted conditional bail, Mr Sheard could be placed on house arrest, report to police twice a day and someone could offer up a $5000 surety.
But the registrar said Mr Sheard had a lengthy criminal history, was on parole for similar offences and, if convicted, was inevitably facing a jail term.
The registrar refused Mr Sheard bail and adjourned the matter overnight to Wyong Local Court, when the 30-year-old did not apply for bail. The matter was adjourned until next week.
Mr Sheard's co-accused, 26-year-old Jessy Edwards, was also charged with aggravated break and enter and commit serious indictable offence and appeared in Wyong Local Court on Wednesday where he was refused bail until November.
Sheard had faced a trial in the NSW Supreme Court that ended on July 28 when he was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter over the death of 33-year-old Michael Black, a jury left with no doubt he was defending himself after being attacked twice and slashed in the chin during a dispute over buprenorphine, an opiate replacement drug, in a holding cell on April 22, 2020.
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