Kialla home invasion accused faces court

He is charged with home invasion, intentionally causing injuring, recklessly causing injury and assault.

Shepparton Detective Senior Constable Luke Arrowsmith told the court Mr Thou, and four co-accused, drove from Melbourne to Shepparton where they met a fifth co-accused before going to a house in Kialla at 11pm on January 11.

He said one of the men had a dispute with a person they were looking for at the house over a Holden Commodore a day earlier, but that person fled when they arrived.

All six men allegedly assaulted a man in the driveway, kicking and punching him, before pushing their way into the house, Det Sen Constable Arrowsmith said.

Inside, Mr Thou punched a woman in the face, before standing over her and demanding the keys to the Commodore and to know the whereabouts of the person they were looking for, Det Sen Constable Arrowsmith said.

The court heard some of the co-accused then allegedly armed themselves with knives from the kitchen and continued to search for the person they were looking for.

Police arrested Mr Thou 15 minutes later in a nearby retirement village.

Mr Thou’s defence barrister Anthony Pyne questioned the strength of evidence in the case in relation to his client.

He said Mr Thou’s entry to the house was not captured on CCTV, and the attack on the man in the driveway did not clearly show his client’s involvement.

Mr Pyne argued there would be significant delays in the case going to trial, and that the time Mr Thou spent on remand could exceed any sentence given.

He said his client was young, his partner was pregnant, and he had a stable address to live at.

Prosecutor Marcel White said Mr Thou posed an unacceptable risk to the community.

He said Mr Thou had an outstanding court matter where he was charged with assaulting three women in 2020.

In 2017, he was also charged with armed robbery at Melbourne stores. At one store, Mr Thou allegedly assaulted the woman working there with a metal bar.

Mr White also submitted that the proposed bail address was not suitable, because the person who lived there had a criminal history from many years ago and another person who had said they lived at the address was wanted by police.

He also argued there was a strong case all six men could seen around the car assaulting the man outside, and there was “strong evidence” he punched the woman.

He also said Mr Thou was “looking at serious jail time” if found guilty.

Magistrate Peter Dunn refused Mr Thou’s bail application, and said he was charged with “serious crimes” and there was a strong prosecution case of home invasion and the assault on the woman.

“He is a substantial risk to the community,” he said.

Mr Thou was remanded in custody to appear at a committal at Shepparton Magistrates’ Court in August.