Police allege Allan McCole, 30, and a co-accused attended the depot about 2.40 am on August 23 where they stole a 2018 white Holden Colorado ute worth $50,000, a trailer valued at $4500 and an assortment of power tools.
Mr McCole faced Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday where he was denied bail.
First Constable Simon Bingham told the court Mr McCole and the co-accused were observed travelling in Wahring about 8 am that same morning, where a witness observed one of them dumping the stolen vehicle.
The court was told police later located Mr McCole and the co-accused at the roadhouse in Wahring, where a search of the vehicle they were travelling in located "a number of tools" stolen from the council depot earlier that morning.
Police later located the stolen trailer at an address in Mangalore.
First Constable Bingham said on August 24 police obtained CCTV footage from the council depot.
“The accused and co-accused were depicted entering and exiting in a Magna sedan and seen on foot walking around the depot for a considerable period of time,” he said.
Mr McCole was arrested and interviewed that afternoon where he told police he was home all night, denying all allegations in relation to the offending.
The court heard Mr McCole was on bail at the time charged with a number of alleged thefts from Thompson's Motor Group and Konigs Shepparton.
First Constable Bingham said the accused had a prior history for similar offending, and told the court police strongly opposed his bail.
“If the accused is bailed he would continue to breach bail conditions, as he had on this occasion ... it is quite evident bail conditions aren’t working,” he said.
“This offending was nearly $65,000 worth of stolen goods — that's a huge impact to businesses and the community.”
The accused's lawyer Luke Slater questioned a number of elements of the prosecution case including the "terrible quality" of the CCTV footage and the phone tower records which police allege placed his client in the area at the time of the offending.
“My submission is that the strength of this case against the accused is weak at this stage because the only real evidence police have in relation to the accused being there is the CCTV footage,” he told the court.
“There is no doubt everyone would agree on the basis of those images it would not be possible for him to be convicted beyond reasonable doubt.”
Mr Slater said his client suffered from an acquired brain injury following a motor vehicle accident eight years ago, putting him into the "vulnerable category" while in custody.
He argued the current COVID-19 pandemic could result in Mr McCole spending months waiting for a contested hearing, telling the court it was "not in community interest" for someone to be sitting in custody.
While he acknowledged the charges were serious, he described the strength of the prosecution case as not strong and said detention was "not justified".
Magistrate Peter Mithen described the offending as a "sizeable" commercial burglary, and said he was not satisfied that the risk of releasing Mr McCole on bail was acceptable.
“His track record is not impressive in relation to bail and other matters — the pendulum comes back to protection of the community,” he said.
Mr McCole was remanded to appear in court again on October 2.
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