Picton Court: Man refused bail after allegedly holding two women hostage in Narellan

A man has appeared at Picton Local Court facing charges relating to a hostage incident and 13-hour police operation in Sydney’s southwest earlier this week. Here is what we know.

Generic NSW Police Images for online stories Picture: Thomas Lisson

A 34-year-old man is facing charges including allegedly being in possession of an unauthorised firearm and domestic violence related charges at Picton Local Court on Friday after being refused bail.

He has been accused of stalking or intimidating with the intention of causing fear or physical harm, and was also charged for allegedly cultivating a prohibited plant.

It’s understood that the police launched an extensive 13-hour operation at Hovell St just off Queen St in Narellan, which started around 9pm on February 21.

Tactical response officers and the dog squad were called in to end a two-hour hostage negotiation with the accused; with multiple residents also reporting seeing a police helicopter circling the area late Wednesday night.

The police claim they arrived at the house just before 9am Thursday morning in response to a call about a domestic dispute.

Soon after their arrival at Hovell St, the situation escalated with the man allegedly threatening the safety of two women in the house – aged 57 and 32 – who were known to him prior to the alleged incident.

Camden Police officers responded to the hostage situation by establishing a perimeter around the house and calling in specialist police forces from the ‘negotiations unit’ and ‘tactical operations unit’, according to a NSW Police spokesman.

A number of residents reported that dog squad and undercover police also attended the scene.

After two hours of negotiation with the man, all three of the individuals left the house without injuries.

The 34-year-old man appeared at Picton Local Court to face drug and domestic violence charges relating to the incident on 23 February.