Alleged Rundle Mall robber Trevor John Sansbury tells magistrate you can tell he’s not mental ‘just by looking at me’

A man who allegedly threatened staff with an axe at a Rundle Mall store has apologised to a court for the incident, saying it’s obvious he’s “not mental”.

A man accused of wielding an axe and threatening staff at a Rundle Mall store has told a court it’s obvious he’s not mental just by looking at him.

Trevor John Sansbury appeared in the Adelaide Magistrate Court via video link from custody on Thursday where he told his lawyer, prosecution and Magistrate Oliver Koehn he’ll do “whatever yous want me to do” and “will not let yous down” if he was released on bail.

“I’ve cut down (on drugs) heaps, I’m basically clean now, I’ll give you urine tests every day,” he said.

“I’m sorry for what I did, I accept what I did. You can see, Your Honour, that I’m not mental … just by looking at me.”

Mr Koehn said “in my unprofessional opinion” it appeared Mr Sansbury’s offending was related to heavy drug use rather than mental health issues.

Mr Sansbury, 36, has yet to plead to one count of committing theft using force.

Police allege he was the hatchet-wielding man who stole a T-shirt from Foot Locker’s Rundle Mall outlet last week, threatening to “smash” staff and “burn down” the store.

The man was arrested several hours after the alleged offending. Picture: Charlie Dadds

Police at the Rundle Mall Foot Locker store after the incident. Picture: Kelly Barnes

During a hearing in which Mr Sansbury repeatedly verbally abused the prosecutor, the court ordered a report to assess his mental health and suitability for release on bail.

Mr Koehn said the accused had been in the Lyell McEwin Hospital emergency department on February 9, five days before his offending, in order to be accessed by a psychiatrist.

“Then he absconded before he was assessed,” he said.

“The court does say that it was thought his impulsive and apparently delusional behaviour may have been secondary to substance abuse.

“It has been suggested he has a very serious drug addiction problem.”

In a hearing last Thursday, Mr Sansbury had an outburst at the prosecution after she said they’d be opposing his release on bail.

“Just throw away the key, you f***ing rat,” he yelled.

The prosecutor said Mr Sansbury entered the store and selected a top before walking towards the exit.

“A staff member suspected he was going to leave without paying and alerted a colleague,” she said.

“He pulled a small hatchet from his bag and said ‘I’ll burn this place down’ while holding it at shoulder height.”

The prosecutor said Mr Sansbury was arrested several hours later where he was found to be wearing the T-shirt he admitted to stealing and also admitted to stealing alcohol from Dan Murphy’s at Norwood on March 11.

“He also admitted bringing the hatchet but said he did so because a staff member had said something about putting his hands on him so he used it to protect himself,” she said.

Mr Sansbury will appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court again on Friday after he has undergone a psychiatric assessment in custody to assess his suitability for bail.