A Berkeley man arrested amid allegations he caused a passenger train to derail at Kembla Grange last month already has 22 outstanding charges against him in court, it can be revealed.
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Allan Martin Simpson stands accused of stealing a Nissan El Grand from a home in Flinders on the evening of October 19 before abandoning it on the railway track sometime between 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock the next morning.
The passenger train, with 11 people on board, ploughed into the van just before 4.20am, causing it to derail. The front carriage detached on impact and rolled onto its side, leaving the train driver trapped inside with back injuries.
Four people, including the driver, were taken to hospital.
Meanwhile, police issued a warrant for Simpson's arrest on unrelated charges.
He was apprehended last Wednesday, at which time police charged him with eight offences stemming from the derailment.
The most serious of the charges - endangering the safety of a person on a railway - carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail.
Simpson has been in custody since his arrest and chose not to appear via video link in Wollongong Local Court yesterday during a brief mention of his matter.
The court heard Simpson had seven different matters before the court with a total of 22 charges ranging from petty crimes of larceny and shoplifting, to serious allegations of entering a dwelling house with intent to steal.
He currently denies all but one of the charges against him, having already admitted to the theft of a spare wheel from a Toyota Prado parked at Berkeley in October last year.
The items Simpson is alleged to have stolen or shoplifted include $212 worth of alcohol from Dan Murphys, a $1900 drone from JB HiFi, three pairs of Versace sunglasses from Shellharbour Square, and a $400 Apple iPhone 8 from Coles.
Simpson also stands accused of entering a home in Gerringong in the early hours of April 3 this year and stealing laptops, mobile phones and credit cards, which he allegedly used to purchase $700 worth of goods.
Magistrate Gabriel Fleming adjourned all matters bar the train derailment charges to November 16 for pleas to be entered. The derailment charges were adjourned to January 13.
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