A HORSHAM man who police allege robbed a Baillie Street service station armed with a baseball bat has been refused bail.
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Beau Cassidy, 25, appeared in Horsham Magistrates' Court on Thursday afternoon. He did not enter a plea.
Police arrested him in Horsham on Wednesday.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable David Richardson told the court that CCTV footage showed Mr Cassidy walking through the rear car park of Horsham Plaza at 5.03am on Saturday, July 21.
"He was equipped with an aluminium baseball bat under his jumper," Senior Constable Richardson said.
"At 5.28am he walked through the automatic door of the Caltex service station that opens onto Baillie Street, with the bat hidden inside the left leg of his tracksuit pants. He was holding a white cloth over his face to conceal his identity."
Senior Constable Richardson said another man was in the service station at the time, and asked if the man behind the counter would be OK before leaving.
He said the witness then waited in his car and watched the accused inside the store.
"The accused asked the victim to unlock a mobile phone cabinet. As the victim walked back behind the counter with the phone, the accused produced a baseball bat and said, 'Don't do anything stupid, I know your registration and what your car is'," Senior Constable Richardson said.
"He asked for all the money the victim had and received $125. Then he also demanded a pack of cigarettes and the cordless work phone."
Senior Constable Richardson told the court the accused was later seen fleeing down Magee Court. He said the witness returned from his car to find the man behind the service station counter sitting on a crate and crying.
Senior Constable David Richardson told Magistrate Andrew McKenna that Mr Cassidy would be an "unacceptable risk" if granted bail, given the serious nature of the offence.
Mr Cassidy disputed this and said he wanted to see his cat before his next court date.
He told the court he wanted to live with his parents and hoped his mother would persuade his father to allow it.
Mr McKenna denied the application for bail.
"The way it has been put to me is that there was a level of pre-meditation to the crime, and that he thrust the bat directly at the console operator - not to injure him, but place him in fear," he said.
Mr McKenna said should Mr Cassidy's parents support his request to return home with them, the court might consider a fresh bail application.
Mr Cassidy will face court again on November 13.