Andrew O’Keefe again denied bail

Former Chase host Andrew O’Keefe has now been denied bail in the NSW Supreme Court.

O’Keefe has been locked up on remand for more than a month, after he was charged with choking and assaulting a woman on January 25.

News.com.au reports defence barrister Arjun Chhabra told NSW Supreme Court today his client was acting in self-defence after an argument broke out with a woman over a financial arrangement.

O’Keefe is expected to plead not guilty to four assault charges and two counts of intentionally choking without consent.

After police found 1.5g of marijuana in O’Keefe’s apartment during his arrest, he pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge.

He is also facing separate apprehended violence breach charges which relate to a woman who can’t be named for legal reasons and an incident in 2021.

Mr Chabbra said imprisonment was unlikely if O’Keefe was convicted over the earlier charges, but “not inevitable” for the recent alleged offences.

He told the court his client had been “surrounded” by bikie gang members, denied medication and bullied by Corrective Services officers. O’Keefe also had “reduced vision due to an altercation with Corrective Officers,” Mr Chabbra told the court.

The Crown prosecutor said O’Keefe had an “ongoing addiction to ice” and a proposed-three week stint in a mental health rehabilitation facility was not long enough.

In refusing bail Justice Robertson Wright said it appeared O’Keefe had a long-standing, significant drug problem that included using cocaine, meth and cannabis.

He acknowledged O’Keefe had virtually no criminal history and no significant history of violence, but said the offences were serious.

O’Keefe was denied bail, with Justice Wright saying he expected O’Keefe could spend six to 12 months remanded in custody.

Additional source: Northern Beaches Review