Man allegedly hid in ceiling during Shepparton siege

Police said the man climbed into the ceiling of a home as police went looking for him.

He then held police off in a siege that lasted until he was arrested a little after 4.30pm.

A section of Weddell St, between Swallow and Sobraon Sts, was blocked off by police during the siege, while a large number of uniform, family violence unit and crime investigation unit police attended the incident.

Shepparton man, Kyle Egan, 31, was arrested at the scene and charged with assaulting a police officer during the incident.

On September 19, police had also put out a request for public help to locate Mr Egan, saying he was wanted in relation to allegedly making a threat to kill, dangerous driving, reckless conduct, and criminal damage.

These were some of the charges the outstanding arrest warrants related to.

Mr Egan was held in police custody overnight on Thursday, before appearing in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court in a bail application on Friday.

Mr Egan’s defence solicitor Megan McKenna said the man’s father had died in March and he had “disengaged” from court services, but that he was now “ready to deal with the matters before the court and engage with court services”.

Prosecutor Charles Moffatt urged the magistrate not to bail him, saying he was a risk of not appearing in court and that the welfare and safety of police officers could be put in danger if he failed to appear in court again and police went looking for him in the future.

Magistrate Megan Casey said she took into account the seriousness of the allegations before the court, as well as Mr Egan’s “experiences of trauma” while in custody.

She also considered that if found guilty of the charges, he may not be sentenced to prison.

Ms Casey said the risks Mr Egan posed could be ameliorated by strict bail conditions, and granted him bail.

His bail conditions include that he comply with the Court Integrated Services Program and report to police once a week.