A woman has been allegedly violently assaulted at a Northbourne Avenue tram stop after she didn't offer up a cigarette to a stranger.
Natalie Helen Sheridan, 37, made a tearful appearance in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday, when she was granted bail.
"I'm loathe to transfer the burden of your offending onto your children by not having someone at home looking after them," magistrate Robert Cook said.
The alleged offender, of NSW, faced multiple charges, the most recent being assault occasioning actual bodily harm and robbery.
"Based on what you look like, you would have one," Sheridan replied when the alleged victim said she did not have cigarettes at the Ipima Street platform on Tuesday morning.
The alleged victim responded: "Based on what anyone looks like shouldn't mean they should give you what you want."
This comment allegedly prompted Sheridan to "run" at the alleged victim, and say words to the effect of "really bitch, you wanna f---ing go?".
Sheridan is accused of grabbing the alleged victim's dress and swinging a punch which did not make contact.
Sheridan is then said to have hit the alleged victim in the side of the head, causing her to fall onto Northbourne Avenue.
Police claim an unknown woman kicked the alleged victim in the head.
Sheridan is accused of hitting the alleged victim's face three of four times before beginning to "rip stuff" out of the woman's handbag, including a new packet of cigarettes.
When police spoke to and eventually arrested Sheridan, she told them the alleged victim "had tripped over on the road".
On Wednesday, the magistrate asked Sheridan "who pays the price" for her alleged actions.
"You're the one that's done this ... you're the one who needs to not break the law."
He described the assault allegation as "significant violence to a vulnerable part of [the alleged victim's] body".
Despite a prosecutor's opposition and Sheridan's "extensive violence in your past", as put by the court, Mr Cook granted the woman's bail application.
The magistrate warned that if she did not fulfill her bail obligations such as turning up to court, "we'll see you in custody".
