A lawyer for alleged Windang gunman Simon Fleming claims he was forced to lodge a bail application in court just to get face-to-face with his client, in the wake of COVID-19 quarantine protocols for new inmates inside the state's busiest jail.
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Fleming has been in quarantine inside the Metropolitan Reception and Remand Centre at the Silverwater jail complex since he was transferred there from Wollongong Police Station on November 29 - a day after he allegedly shot up a Windang street in broad daylight while armed with two high-powered rifles.
Strict COVID-19 protocols mean every new inmate entering the centre must adhere to a 14-day quarantine period in which they are housed in a separate wing and their movements severely restricted so as not to potentially infect other prisoners.
Fleming's matter was listed for a bail application in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday, however defence lawyer Aaron Kernaghan revealed he never intended for the application to proceed and that his request for the court appearance was a last-ditch attempt to secure access to his client while he was in quarantine.
He told the court he'd booked a "dozen [legal] conferences" with Fleming during the 15-day period he'd been in quarantine, but claimed all had been cancelled by NSW Corrective Services staff.
"I haven't been able to get in touch with him," Mr Kernaghan said.
However, a Corrective Services spokesperson said jail records reveal Fleming had had three legal appointments via video with his lawyer between December 2 and December 10.
The spokesperson also rejected Mr Kernaghan's suggestions that Fleming had not had access to a shower or a change of clothes during his time in quarantine.
Magistrate Claire Girotto allowed Mr Kernaghan to speak to Fleming privately on Tuesday during the court's scheduled morning tea break.
Meanwhile, several lawyers who spoke to the Mercury on the condition of anonymity revealed they too had had difficulties getting access to their MRRC clients during the quarantine period.
"You just can't book an AVL (audio-visual link) with them for the first two weeks," one lawyer said.
Another confirmed they too had been forced to book cases in for bail applications just to get their client in front of a camera.
The Correctives Services spokesperson said there were logistical and infection control challenges in moving quarantined inmates to the communal phones, prompting the department to purchase 440 mobile phone for inmates on which they could receive legal and family calls.
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