Teenage girl with ‘unsettled behaviour’ in detention refused bail over alleged robbery at Geraldton Foreshore

A teenage girl accused of snatching a woman’s handbag and stealing a lanyard with car keys from around her neck at the Geraldton Foreshore has been refused bail a second time. The 17-year-old Geraldton girl appeared in Geraldton Children’s Court from Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre on Monday after spending 31 days in detention. Her bail was formally refused the first time on February 20. The teen is yet to enter pleas for aggravated robbery and an unrelated charge of damaging property. It is alleged that on February 10 four girls were hovering around a woman in her 30s sitting on a bench near Stow Gardens when one of them launched at her, grabbing her handbag. The woman was pulled to the ground by the girl while the other three co-accused ran off. A Community Corrections officer provided a verbal detention management report and told the court the teen was unsettled in detention and there were some concerns about her behaviour. Defence counsel Brad Romano said since being in custody, three of the accused’s family members had died and she was having a hard time dealing with her emotions and grief. He said the teen was “very vulnerable and needs family support” and would travel to Carnarvon for sorry time. Police prosecutor Sgt Carey Owen said people died every day and the accused was “no stranger to this type of offending”. “Members of the community must be protected ... She should be remanded in custody until sentencing,” he said. Magistrate Matthew Walton said he respected the cultural significance of sorry time but besides the loss of family members, nothing had changed since the previous bail refusal. He said the purpose of a detention report was to maximise her opportunity for bail but it did not take it any further. “I’m at a loss quite frankly ... At this point in time I’m unable to grant bail,” he said. Bail was formally refused again.