Fallen AFL star Ben Cousins will return to court today to complete his bail application, as he prepares to fight nearly all new charges against him, including aggravated stalking in Perth.
The former West Coast Eagles captain was arrested on Wednesday after allegedly being found with about 2.5 grams of methamphetamine in East Victoria Park.
Police had earlier been searching for a vehicle that was seen driving erratically in nearby Kensington.
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Cousins, 41, was also charged with aggravated stalking and 13 counts of breaching a violence restraining order between April 2 and 15. Those charges relate to his ex-partner Maylea Tinecheff, whom he allegedly tried to contact via phone more than 100 times.
A police prosecutor said Cousins had attended Tinecheff’s home with Easter eggs and wanted to see their children, yelling out: “I hate your mother”, “why don’t you love your dad” and “why don’t you get your mum to let me speak to you”, days before his arrest.
Cousins arrested again
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Cousins’ lawyer Michael Tudori said the charges related to Ms Tinecheff were different to the ones Cousins previously spent almost one year in jail for, as there were no threats involved.
Mr Tudori said Cousins had been spending time with his children under a parenting plan, but less than one month before the alleged offending, she ceased all communication.
He said whenever Cousins faced a crisis he would turn to drugs for comfort, as it was the way he “deals with stresses in his life”.
The former premiership player and Brownlow Medallist has been in and out of prison in recent years as he struggled with his meth addiction and family troubles.
He had been scheduled to face a trial last September over other alleged family violence offences, but after charges of stalking and threatening to harm Ms Tinecheff were dropped, he pleaded guilty to 12 lesser offences.
He was sentenced to eight months in prison but it was backdated and with time already served, he was able to walk free in August.
– AAP