Nathaniel Marsden Hartwick-Buck bail refused after alleged crime spree

Frustrations boiled over for an amputee who claimed his prosthetic leg made his alleged offences impossible. READ WHAT HE DID IN COURT:

An amputee who claimed his prosthetic leg excluded him as an alleged car thief unleashed a frustrated blow after applying for bail.

Nathaniel Marsden Hartwick-Buck’s bail was denied in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Monday, April 18, 2022 after he was charged with 13 offences including driving without due care and attention, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and entering a premise to commit an indictable offence.

Mr Hartwick-Buck seemed frustrated while appearing via video link and punched the watch house wall after hearing Magistrate Raelene Ellis say “bail is refused”.

Duty Lawyer Jason Todman told the court the man had “a lot going on in his life” since becoming an amputee in a car accident 10 months ago.

“He is in a fair deal of pain and there’s a fair bit of pain management,” he said.

Mr Todman said Mr Hartwick-Buck suffered from depression and anxiety because of the injury.

Ms Ellis said “his prosthetic leg didn’t seem to stop him from stealing cars”.

Mr Todman said the Pacific Paradise father denied the offences and said he couldn’t drive.

“ … How can he steal a car if he can’t drive it?” he said.

Mr Todman said Mr Hartwick-Buck – who had a limited Queensland criminal history – had drug issues that related to his pain management.

Police prosecutor Mick Ruddiman said Mr Hartwick-Buck had been given multiple bail opportunities to “keep him in the community” since he was first taken into police custody on June 9, 2021.

The court heard Mr Hartwick-Buck had failed to appear in court three times since January 17, 2022.

The father had also been given a $1000 fine in December, 2021 for two previous failures to appear on August 11 and November 18, 2021.

Sergeant Ruddiman said Mr Hartwick-Buck was due to appear in court on April 11, 2022 when he allegedly had a “party” and unlawfully used a car, received tainted property and entered a premise with intent to commit an indictable offence on April 10.

He told the court CCTV footage clearly showed a man with the same tattoos as Mr Hartwick-Buck committing the offences.

“My submission is the evidence is strong on those matters,” he said.

Nathaniel Marsden Hartwick-Buck’s bail was denied in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Monday after he was charged with 13 offences. Picture: Social media

The court heard Mr Hartwick-Buck was also charged with driving while disqualified on June 3, 2021 and two counts of driving without a licence on March 8 and 14, 2022.

“He is an unacceptable risk … of failing to appear and going out and committing further offences,” Seregant Ruddiman said

Mr Todman said Mr Hartwick-Buck hadn’t been convicted of the offences and he could have been wrongly identified.

He said Mr Hartwick-Buck failed to appear on one of the occasions because he prioritised a rare prosthetic appointment.

Ms Ellis said if found guilty Mr Hartwick-Buck would likely be given a prison sentence for the “serious offences”.

She noted the failing to appear charges.

The matters were adjourned to April 22, 2022.