Man accused of St Carthage‘s Cathedral to apply for bail
Police will allege Stephen Anthony Luke, 46, carried out a week-long crime spree across NSW.
Lismore
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A man accused of causing significant damage to a Lismore Cathedral will soon apply for bail
Stephen Anthony Luke, 46, is accused of carrying out a week-long crime spree across NSW in September, which involved allegedly setting fire to two churches and stealing money and cars from victims.
Mr Luke, who was mentioned without appearance at Lismore Local Court on Wednesday, was approved for a bail application date of April 28.
According to court documents tendered to Lismore Local Court, Mr Luke allegedly travelled to Lismore, where he set fire to St Carthage's Cathedral on September 18, 2020.
Multiple fire crews were called to the cathedral and managed to extinguish the blaze.
Mr Luke was later arrested on September 19 on Magellan St, Lismore.
According to court documents, a taser was used to subdue Mr Luke after he allegedly threatened officers with a large knife.
He was charged with damaging more than $15,000 worth of property with fire, using an offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention, two counts of assault with intent to rob armed with an offensive weapon, armed robbery using with offensive weapon, two counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and larceny.
The NSW Police Prosecutor told Lismore Local Court on Wednesday all matters involving Mr Luke were now ready to proceed.
"All matters are now certifiable," the police prosecutor said.
Mr Luke's previous September 20 bail application was refused by the Lismore Registrar.
Police will allege Mr Luke's crime spree started in Griffith where he allegedly threatened a 20-year-old woman in a car park with a knife before demanding she give him the car keys on September 14, 2020.
He then allegedly fled the area in her Volkswagen Polo, along with her handbag containing personal items.
Police will allege Mr Luke further approached a 23-year-old woman outside a shopping centre at Hornsby, where he threatened her with a large knife.
He allegedly demanded she hand over her cash, but she was able to flee without handing over any of her possessions.
Then, according to the timeline outlined in court documents, Mr Luke allegedly set the fire to garden plants and irrigation plumbing pipes at the Hillsong property in Norwest, causing about $2000 worth of damage on September 16 before heading to Lismore.
Mr Luke, who remains in custody at Clarence Correctional Centre, will now appear at Lismore Local Court on June 16 for further mention.
He is also set to appear via video link for his bail application on April 28.
Originally published as Man accused of cathedral fire to apply for bail