A 20-year-old Hamilton Hill man who was arrested in relation to a spate of western suburbs vehicle break ins last week, has been granted bail after saying he needed to be home to look after his sick grandfather.
Matthew Ronald Brian Ryder appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday via video link after he was arrested and charged over an alleged crime spree in which police claim 87 vehicles were broken into in the suburbs of Mosman Park, Peppermint Grove, Wembley, Crawley, Dalkeith and Fremantle on April 9.
A 20-year-old man has been released on bail.Credit: 9 News Perth
Magistrate Adam Hills-Wright asked what evidence there was against the father of two, with prosecutors telling him it was “circumstantial”.
“Automatic number plate recognition showed the car registration - which the accused was arrested in … the vehicle is shown to be travelling in the direction of Dalkeith on Mounts Bay Road only four minutes prior to the alleged offences of the criminal damage to the vehicles,” the prosecutor said.
Magistrate Hills-Wright said the evidence was “certainly not overwhelming”.
The prosecution told the court Ryder, who was also arrested in relation to an aggravated home burglary in Cottesloe in March, as well as breaching protective bail conditions in relation to the alleged assault of his partner, had been seen on CCTV cameras wearing clothing that he was also captured wearing at a Coles supermarket days later.
“These photos of a person wearing same sort of clothes … clothes are generic and you can get them anywhere. There is no direct evidence. It’s all circumstantial,” his lawyer told the court.
She also argued that her client should be released pending the outcome of his charges because he lived with his grandfather who needed his help with an upcoming heart operation.
Magistrate Hills-Wright agreed to release Ryder on strict bail conditions that included a 6pm to 6am curfew and a $2000 surety and $2000 undertaking.
He will be back before the courts on May 13 for legal advice.