Michael Stanley Howarth denied bail on 120 charges

A carpenter and father of six accused of committing 120 offences while between Noosa and Bundaberg had suffered PTSD since being shot at by a Gold Coast grandmother (pictured), a court has been told.

Michael Stanley Howarth suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and depression due to an incident where he was shot at by his mother-in-law Miriam Eason, pictured.

A father of six is accused of going on a 200km crime spree, where he committed 120 offences including fraud, break and enter, assault and car theft.

Michael Stanley Howarth, 43, appeared before Bundaberg Magistrates Court via Maryborough Correctional Centre to apply for bail.

Mr Howarth is charged with 71 counts of fraud, 14 counts of break and enter, 11 counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle and one count of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed/in company.

The court heard the fraud offences involved the alleged use of a credit card.

Police prosecutor Tina Bland told the court police opposed bail due to the serious nature of the allegations, which included breaking into a home by smashing a glass panel with a hammer, with one of the complainants injured by the shards of glass.

Sergeant Bland said police had strong evidence including CCTV and fingerprints tying Mr Howarth to the offences which took place over a wide area from Noosa to Bundaberg, where he was taken into custody.

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“Your honour, I submit this is a crime spree … across a wide geographical area,” Sgt Bland said.

Mr Howarth’s lawyer, Rian Dwyer, said his client suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and depression due to an incident where he was shot at by his mother-in-law, Gold Coast grandmother Miriam Eason.

The court heard Mr Howarth had six children aged 14 to 22, and if released on bail would act as the sole carer for his three youngest children.

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Mr Dwyer said his client completed an apprenticeship in upholstery and had done some carpentry work.

He fell into drug use through previous periods of custody, and wanted to participate in drug rehabilitation courses.

Magistrate John McInnes said while the majority of Mr Howarth’s offences were nonviolent fraud charges, the 14 break and enter and 11 unlawful use of vehicle offences were concerning when considering the risk to the community.

The court heard Mr Howarth’s criminal history was not in his favour, including offences for threatening violence, wilful damage and breaching bail.

Mr McInnes refused bail, with Mr Howarth remanded in custody at Maryborough Correctional Centre to the Bundaberg Magistrates Court on September 19.