Devon Preston Lee Comeagain: District Court judge uses powers to drop Geraldton man’s charges two years later

[Pelican Press 0]

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Devon Preston Lee Comeagain: District Court judge uses powers to drop Geraldton man’s charges two years later

A judge has dropped charges laid against a Geraldton man more than two years after he was arrested due to prosecutors failing to submit paperwork needed for the matter to go to trial.

Devon Preston Lee Comeagain, 29, appeared in Geraldton District Court via video link from Greenough Regional Prison on Wednesday, January 22, on charges dating back to October 2023, which the accused pleaded not guilty to in September last year.

Defence lawyer Paul Gazia urged the judge to use his powers to discontinue the charges, noting Mr Comeagain had been arrested on November 6, 2023 and was still waiting for police to submit the paperwork required before he could stand trial.

He was facing two counts of aggravated burglary, four counts of stealing, stealing a motor vehicle and reckless driving to escape pursuit by police.

Judge Michael Bowden said police were previously advised by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to serve disclosure in November, and a court order was made to comply by January 20.

When questioned why the relevant paperwork had not been submitted, the prosecutor was unable to confirm why the order had not been followed.

Mr Bowden noted there was a “skills shortage in Western Australia”, but arresting officers had an obligation to provide full disclosure within a reasonable timeframe. He said court resources needed to be dispersed appropriately and made the decision to drop all charges.

He told the court if police re-arrested Mr Comeagain without providing full disclosure, it would be considered an “abuse of process”.

The matter was dismissed.

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