A man who allegedly stole enough instruments from a backyard shed to form his own string band was granted strict bail conditions when he appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday.
Ayden Spicer, 33, was charged with burglary after a search warrant on his residence recovered some - but not all - of the stolen items.
The owner of the instruments had secured them in his "man cave" in the early hours of Thursday morning but at 9am found the door wide open. Missing from the man cave were three violins, a banjo, a banjola, a desktop computer and monitor, speakers and a guitar.
Later that day, Mr Spicer and another man were seen allegedly carrying instrument cases which were identified as belonging to the burglary victim. The men were walking in the vicinity of the Watson shops, where photos were taken of them which were then sent to police.
Officers located Spicer in Watson about 3.30pm and took him into custody a short time later.
During a search of the man, police found two zip lock bags containing a substance suspected of being methylamphetamine in the man's wallet, and a folded knife.
Charges of possessing a drug of dependence and possessing a knife without a reasonable excuse were subsequently added.
When questioned about the instruments, Spicer said he had been out the whole day and had no knowledge of the stolen property.
A search warrant of his unit in A'Beckett Street, Watson was obtained, in which the police found and seized two violins, a guitar, a desktop computer, a banjo chord book and a CD of string band music.
Magistrate James Lawton noted Spicer had an extensive criminal history and the prosecution case was strong but nonetheless granted bail on strict conditions.
Spicer will appear again on January 28 and has indicated to his Legal Aid solicitor he intends to dispute the burglary charge.
