“Postcard Bandit” collaborator Brendan Berichon has been denied bail in a Brisbane court over a raft of robbery and domestic violence charges.

August 16, 2019

The man who once helped the notorious “Postcard Bandit” Brendan Abbott break out of jail has been refused bail on a slew of burglary and domestic violence charges.

Brendan Berichon was remanded in custody on Friday with a Brisbane Supreme Court judge saying he hadn’t shown a good enough reason why he should be released on bail given his long and violent criminal history.

Berichon is accused of five groups of offences allegedly committed in January and February, including arming himself with a sword before chasing and assaulting one of his victims.

He also allegedly made 416 phone calls to that victim in a 40-day period and other “ugly” scenes.

The alleged month-long crime spree began days after Berichon was released from jail on parole after serving a three-month sentence.

The convicted bank robber reportedly evaded Queensland police, who were chasing him for outstanding warrants, and temporarily halted firefighting efforts on the Gold Coast when he fled into fire-ravaged bushland.

But was captured in February after three weeks on the run.

Berichon’s lawyer Daniel Caruana conceded the bail application “wasn’t attractive at first blush” given his client’s criminal history and the persistent nature of the new charges.

But he said Berichon should be granted bail because he risked spending more time waiting for trial than the potential sentence he faced.

Justice Peter Davis disagreed, saying Berichon’s criminal history, which includes attempted murder and false imprisonment, was serious.

“Although that’s 20 years ago it is still significant in the context of the domestic violence offences,” he said.

“It seems … the applicant has an obsession with the complainant and an obvious tendency over a number of years to become violent.”

He dismissed the bail application.