Warren Todd Knapp: Albany man spits at magistrate while appearing on 13 burglary and stealing charges

An Albany man accused of burglary and stealing from a string of local businesses over the weekend was denied bail after he yelled obscenities and spat at the magistrate in court. Warren Todd Knapp appeared in Albany Magistrates Court on September 12 charged with four counts of burglary and commit, three counts of stealing and three counts of burglary with intent. The 37-year-old was also charged with two counts of attempted burglary with intent and stealing by opening locked room, box, or other receptacle by means of a key or other instrument. While deliberating on Mr Knapp’s bail application, Magistrate Scaddan said she was not satisfied that the defence’s proposed lengthy conditions would prevent reoffending, given the arrest came just two and a half months after Mr Knapp’s release from prison. Before she had a chance to reach a conclusion, Mr Knapp interrupted, yelling: “What’s that got to do with anything” and then verbally abused the magistrate. Mr Knapp then kicked the wood panelling in front of him before police began leading him out of the court. As he passed Magistrate Scaddan — who was seated about 3m from Mr Knapp’s position in the dock — Mr Knapp spat a wad of spit that flew through the air and landed either on or very close to the judge. He was led from the courtroom, uttering further obscenities, after which Magistrate Scaddan called a short adjournment. The offences for which Mr Knapp appeared were alleged to have occurred about 3.30am on Sunday and involve the theft of cash from a series of business addresses in Albany and Centennial Park. Police arrested Mr Knapp on Monday after executing a search warrant at his address in Orana, where he was living with his partner. Before the hearing was cut short by Mr Knapp’s outburst, his lawyer had sought a three-week adjournment for legal advice and a bail application. Police prosecutor Sgt Warrick Walker opposed bail, presenting photographs and CCTV stills to the court that appeared to show the suspect in two of the locations about 3.30am on the night in question wearing clothing items that allegedly match those worn by Mr Knapp. In one of the CCTV stills, the suspect’s mobile phone is visible and it is alleged that the image on the front of the phone is of Mr Knapp’s son, which police say matches that of a mobile phone found in Mr Knapp’s possession. The prosecution said Mr Knapp was at risk of reoffending given his long history of serious offences, including convictions for burglary and breaches of court orders, and noted the short period between his recent release from prison and his arrest. Mr Knapp was released from prison on June 30 and was back in custody on September 11. The defence said Mr Knapp had been having trouble with drug use since his release. His lawyer — who had not previously seen the CCTV footage presented to the court — made an application for bail with a string of conditions, including that Mr Knapp would comply with a curfew, report to the station as many days as necessary and comply with urinalysis testing. While considering the bail application, Magistrate Scaddan noted Mr Knapp’s criminal record and the strength of the prosecution’s case given the evidence, though circumstantial, and the timing of the search warrant and arrest as within 24 hours of the alleged offences. Magistrate Scaddan said that while none of the breaches was directly for breaches of bail “that is by-and-large related to Mr Knapp being remanded in custody following his arrest and those terms of imprisonment being backdated”. It was while the magistrate was making her deliberation on the bail application that she was interrupted by Mr Knapp who yelled obscenities and spat at her before he was led out of the courtroom. Mr Knapp was remanded in custody and his conduct in court is now the subject of an active investigation. Police are conducting a forensic examination at the locations related to the September 10 charges. If convicted, Mr Knapp will face imprisonment. Mr Knapp’s bail was refused and the case was adjourned to October 5.