'Unacceptable risk': Porsche driver Richard Pusey refused bail

In her decision, Ms Metcalf said she was satisfied that Mr Pusey’s lawyer had reached the threshold of compelling reasons for bail based on a combination of factors, “the chief of which is the likely delay in these charges being determined due to the ongoing pandemic”.

She said she believed there would be issues proving the more serious charges and said she held concerns any jail sentence he received would be shorter than time spent on remand.

“He is not charged with any offences relating to the deaths of the police officers nor does the informant allege Mr Pusey is responsible for or connected to the actions of the vehicle or its driver,” Ms Metcalf said.

“Mr Pusey is not charged with any offences for filming the scene. While his actions in seeking to record the scene were highly intrusive and morally repugnant, the filming was not illegal.

“Nevertheless the charges before the courts are serious.”

Ms Metcalf said it was difficult to make a definitive assessment about the strength of the prosecution case, but said there were clearly “arguable issues in relation to many of the charges”.

She said a committal was unlikely until 2021 and a trial could be as far away as late 2022.

She said she was not persuaded that Mr Pusey was a flight risk, or that he would contact or harass witnesses, those being the civilians who attended the collision scene.

However, she said she did hold concerns about his risk of committing offences on bail and of endangering the safety and welfare of members of the public, given his poor driving record and recreational drug use.

Ms Metcalf also referred to a report by Mr Pusey’s treating psychologist that found there was a “high risk of further acting out behaviour” and of continued drug use.

That report also found that Mr Pusey struggles with anger management and a “narcissistic rage towards multiple parties”, as well as a daily fear of being arrested, being watching by police and at times “fantasising about killing people”.

She said the bail application had not addressed what treatment or support Mr Pusey would seek to address his drug habit and stop his mental health deteriorating.

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“My view is that Mr Pusey poses an unacceptable risk of committing offences on bail and of endangering the safety and welfare of members of the public,” she said.

“Bail is therefore refused.”

Mr Pusey, wearing the same grey jumper he was arrested in, remained expressionless during Thursday’s hearing with his eyes closed at times.

He was pulled over for allegedly speeding on the Eastern Freeway on April 22 when a semi-trailer ploughed into the emergency lane, killing four police officers.

As Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor was dying, her body camera captured Mr Pusey allegedly saying to her: “There you go. Amazing, absolutely amazing. All I wanted to do was go home and have my sushi … Now you’ve f—ed my f—ing car.”

Mr Pusey filmed the scene for three minutes, zooming in on various aspects of the carnage while “continually making derogatory remarks in relation to what he was recording”, the court heard in Monday’s bail hearing.

During Monday’s hearing, the court was told Mr Pusey sent messages to a friend a month earlier, bragging about reaching speeds of 300km/h in his Porsche on the Eastern Freeway.

Dash cam footage captured Mr Pusey’s car weaving into the innermost lane of the Eastern Freeway at high speed on March 21. A video recovered from his phone showed him allegedly travelling at 247km/h on the Monash Freeway in a separate incident.

“This type of driving behaviour puts community safety at risk,” Ms Metcalf said on Thursday.

Mr Pusey has a long list of prior convictions, which were detailed in court on Monday.

He was sentenced to three months in prison and convicted of reckless conduct endangering serious injury after he opened a gas bottle inside the front door of a Fitzroy bar after he was refused service due to being drunk in December 2017.

In September last year, he was convicted of offences in Brisbane after he became abusive on a Tigerair flight from Brisbane to Melbourne, filming the cabin crew and saying to one woman: ‘‘F— off, you fat cow’’. He had to be physically removed from the plane by police.

New recruits Constable Josh Prestney and Constable Glen Humphris were killed alongside senior colleagues Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Senior Constable Kevin King.

Mr Pusey has been charged with 12 offences, including driving at a dangerous speed, reckless conduct endangering life, failing to remain after a drug test and failing to render assistance over the Eastern Freeway crash.