"No interest in justice!" Andrew O'Keefe's courtroom explosion
Disgraced TV host Andrew O'Keefe has screamed at a magistrate in his latest court appearance, claiming he had “no interest in justice” and was threatened with contempt of court after he was again denied bail.
As O'Keefe fronted Sydney’s Central Local Court on Wednesday afternoon, he appeared visibly distressed and frustrated.
The 50-year-old was hit with six charges in January after police alleged that he grabbed a woman by the throat, punched her and pushed her to the ground, to which he pled not guilty to all charges.
Mr O’Keefe has been remanded in custody since his arrest and lost his last bid for bail in the NSW Supreme Court in March.
Defence lawyer Sharon Ramsden presented a fresh application for bail on Wednesday, in which she argued that more evidence had been served on Mr O’Keefe that outlined the “lack of injury” on the complainant.
Over the bail hearing that lasted almost two-hours, Mr O’Keefe was audibly frustrated over what was being said in court.
A prosecutor opposed the bail application and said there was “no new information” to warrant the request,
“There’s not fresh circumstances in what has been put before the court … he has been in rehab nine times,” he said.
Mr O’Keefe spoke over the prosecutor to deny the allegations as magistrate Daniel Reiss warned him he would be “going backwards by speaking up”.
“That’s simply not true Your Honour,” Mr O’Keefe said, raising his voice.
“I’m just getting the truth out there.”
Mr O’Keefe continued to interrupt and shake his head in frustration as magistrate Daniel Reiss told the court of the 50-year-old’s mental health and drug issues.
The magistrate warned that Mr O’Keefe was bordering on being in contempt of court.
“I’ve dealt with many defendants, some are psychotic and are not as hard to deal with as you. Someone with legal qualifications and 10 warnings should know how to deal with it,” Mr Reiss said.
Mr Reiss denied bail, saying he was not willing to allow the “unacceptable risk” of letting Mr O’Keefe leave custody.
Mr O’Keefe gathered his papers and stood up before saying, “The transcript will say I was not arguing, I was trying to help you Your Honour.”
“You have no interest in justice,” Mr O’Keefe continued before storming out.
Mr O’Keefe will return to court for a hearing in June.
Image credits: A Current Affair