A man has tipped off police to a cannabis grow house in his backyard after he allegedly went to a friend’s house and smashed his front window with a baseball bat, court documents say.
Mathew Jacob Simmonds, 42, of Holt appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with aggravated burglary intending to damage property.
Court documents state Mr Simmonds allegedly went to his friend’s Dunlop house on Tuesday and demanded the return of a motorcycle wheel and radiator support he had loaned him.
The man asked Mr Simmonds to leave from behind his locked screen door before Mr Simmonds allegedly shattered the glass window next to the door by punching it.
Mr Simmonds then allegedly retrieved a mini baseball bat from his car and hit the window again, causing the already broken glass to fly into his friend’s arms and left him with cuts.
The man had been trying to film Mr Simmonds on his phone but then dropped it and Mr Simmonds grabbed it and demanded he come outside to get it back from him.
It’s alleged Mr Simmonds then walked around the side of the man’s house and through a gate. The man became fearful Mr Simmonds would get inside his home so he ran through the back door and jumped several fences to escape.
Mr Simmonds turned himself into police on Tuesday night and according to the documents made admissions to police that he had attended his friend’s address, caused damage to the window and also that he was cultivating cannabis in a grow house.
Police officers searched Mr Simmonds’ home and allegedly found a sophisticated hydroponic setup in the freestanding garage at the rear of the property.
Police allegedly found 58 cannabis plants at various stages of maturity inside the garage. The main power supply had allegedly been redirected to bypass the main power board in an attempt to avoid excessive power detection.
Officers also confiscated the hydroponic cultivation equipment and a prohibited weapon. A Holden Commodore was seized under confiscation of criminal assets laws.
Mr Simmonds will be charged with cultivating a trafficable quantity of cannabis.
He was granted bail on Wednesday in relation to the alleged aggravated burglary but will return to court to be charged with the drug offence.