By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A talented writer who allegedly fell into an ice habit and homelessness was refused bail at Dandenong Magistrates Court.
Brenton Kade Cowell, 30, faced charges included a burglary at the Berwick Waters retirement village in July, where two hot water systems, a sink, two stoves, a shower base, shower set and tap assembly were stolen.
Cowell also admitted to selling a Posh Stylus bath tub stolen from an under-construction estate on ‘Gumtree’ for $150, according to a police summary tendered in court.
He was also accused of throwing garden rocks at a man while working on a building site in Endeavour Hills.
While being sought by police, Cowell allegedly fled by jumping over neighbours’ fences in Berwick on 14 September.
At one stage, he climbed onto a home’s roof, removing five tiles and crawling into the roof cavity, police claim.
In the process, Cowell put his knee through the lounge-room ceiling. Two female residents fled their home in fear, the police summary stated.
Police climbed into the roof to arrest Cowell, who allegedly resisted arrest.
He was also charged with possessing methamphetamine at the time, which he had admitted to smoking earlier that morning.
Until recently, the trained plumber lived in Berwick and had won a $10,000 essay-writing competition in his teens, the court heard.
He was now couch-surfing, and had a problem with meth, his lawyer told the court on 29 October.
During his in-person bail application, Cowell said he was working as a handyman when he could.
“I feel like I’m trying to get on with my life, I don’t feel like I’m a threat,” he said.
He said he’d been driving with false number plates due to needing to get to jobs. He “didn’t really make anything” out of the alleged burglary, he told the court.
“It’s a completely drug related thing … me being around the wrong set. I’m trying to get rid of the drugs and the people.”
That day, Cowell had been arrested in Dandenong at a car containing methamphetamine – though he denied the ‘ice’ was his.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen noted that Cowell had failed to attend appointments on the intensive CISP bail program, while failing to attend court and re-offending.
Cowell was remanded to appear at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 14 November.
