A seven-year-old girl was forced to hide in her neighbour's backyard as her terrified mother stood, holding a baby, while a group smashed through their home with baseball bats, police allege.
ACT Magistrate Glenn Theakston on Wednesday said the term "home invasion" was batted around a lot in his court, but it aptly described the alleged September 3 incident.
Police documents said a woman was home with her daughters at Taylor when she saw a glass panel beside the front door smashing. She ordered her eldest daughter out the back and three men and a woman came barging through; one carrying a stick and the rest brandishing baseball bats.
The documents said the woman immediately recognised two of the men, alleged to be 32-year-old Alexander Douglas Jeremy Warne and 38-year-old Damien Andy.
They said the woman ran out the back of the house, still holding her baby, and the group chased her and threw a bat at her. The documents said the offenders went back into the house and smashed five windows, two televisions, holes into walls and doors, and furniture.
"[The incident] involves four [people] charging into a house with weapons, breaking in [and] confronting a female," Mr Theakston said on Wednesday.
The magistrate entertained a bail application from Mr Warne, who intends to defend the charge of aggravated burglary "vigorously".
The 32-year-old is yet to enter pleas to another two charges: theft and damaging property.
Defence lawyer Tom Taylor said Mr Warne was a "strong applicant for bail", particularly given Mr Andy was granted the liberty last Thursday.
He said the issue of parity was "squarely at play" in the case, and Mr Andy's criminal record outweighed Mr Warne's.
The accused man's father, Denis Warne, took the witness stand and said his son could live in his investment property at Malua Bay if he was granted bail.
He said he believed his son would abide by bail conditions, given there were things in his life like his children and his work "that would be more important than other issues".
Mr Taylor told the court Denis Warne wasn't looking at his son through "rose-coloured glasses", and suggested his client could alternatively live in Canberra and re-start his gardening business.
But Mr Theakston said he wouldn't grant Mr Warne bail, and he was surprised his alleged co-offender had been given the liberty.
"[The allegations are] just far too serious for me to feel comfortable in granting bail as proposed," he said.
"[It is] clearly an alarming and disturbing example of conduct."
Mr Theakston refused Mr Warne bail to appear in court again on October 20.
The 32-year-old has so far spent 25 days in custody on remand for the charges.
