Simon Knowles bail application withdrawn after ex-girlfriend lies to the court
Simon Knowles had a rocky history with his ex-girlfriend, but it didn’t stop him from asking her to help him get out of jail on bail. Everything was going well until the former flame was caught mid lie by police and the magistrate.
Inner East
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A woman has risked perjuring herself by lying to a magistrate in a misguided attempt to bail a drug-addled old flame out of prison.
Simon Knowles, 31, of Lalor, was hoping for a get out of jail free card when he fronted the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court yesterday after being arrested by police in Kew, where he was found asleep in a car in Earl St with an ice pipe on his lap, as well as six Etizolam tablets, an addictive anti-anxiety drug, and a small quantity of cannabis.
His car was carrying the wrong registration plates and a police check found he was on bail for alleged offences including car theft and handling stolen goods.
Camberwell police Senior Constable Wayne Moss noted at the time Knowles was in breach of his bail conditions, which prohibited him from using drugs and to abide by a curfew, and he told the court he’d failed to adhere to a community corrections order in the past by neglecting to check in as required with police.
But Knowles’ defence argued he should be released and would reside with former flame, Jessica Poynton, at her mother’s Thornbury house, and Ms Poynton swore under oath her mum was happy to have her ex-boyfriend stay and help him “get back on his feet”.
The court heard the two had not dated for the past couple of years but remained firm friends.
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But police checks while the case was adjourned suggested otherwise, with police claiming Ms Poynton’s mother didn’t want Knowles anywhere near her house, and that she claimed Knowles had been violent towards her daughter in the past.
Sen-Constable Moss told the court Ms Poynton’s mum was unaware her daughter offered him a place to stay, and he said Ms Poynton initially provided him with the wrong phone number when he asked to call her mum.
Magistrate Jennifer Tregent said Ms Poynton was notably absent from the court when the case was recalled and said the her blatant dishonesty was a crime in itself.
“That’s a pretty clear cut case of perjury if you ask me,” she said.
The bail application was withdrawn and Knowles was remanded in custody.