Brodie Dewar: Tim Picton’s accused killer avoids return to jail after prosecution drops bail breach bid

The 20-year-old man charged with fatally coward-punching Tim Picton has narrowly avoided being returned to jail despite returning a positive breath test to alcohol. Brodie Jake Dewar was arrested in the early hours of Sunday when a police officer doing a curfew check breath-tested him and he returned a barely positive reading of 0.014. Mr Dewar is on strict bail conditions — including not drinking alcohol — while he awaits trial for allegedly coward-punching Labor figure Tim Picton outside Paramount Nightclub in Northbridge at 5.30am on December 27. The 36-year-old father-of-one died in hospital a few weeks later. At a bail hearing on Thursday, Prosecutor Justin Whalley said that although Mr Dewar had returned a positive breath test they could not confirm that he had drunk alcohol. Mr Whalley said the prosecution had reached that conclusion after watching a video provided by Mr Dewar’s lawyer and evidence from “scientific journals.” “We are reluctant to go into further details than that,” he said. He said although Mr Dewar was “clearly in breach of his bail conditions” by returning a positive reading they “would be unable to submit that he had been drinking alcohol”. “We don’t make an application under the circumstances to revoke bail,” he said. Justice Joseph McGrath released Mr Dewar on the same strict conditions which include a 7pm to 5am curfew, drugs and alcohol testing, not entering licensed premises, surrendering his passport and not leaving WA. Mr Dewar isn’t required to report to his local police station in Forrestfield but instead must receive random visits from officers and undergo breath tests and urinalysis. Perth Magistrates Court was told in February that Mr Dewar allegedly attacked Mr Picton because he thought he was paying too much attention to his female cousin at the nightclub. It is alleged that as Mr Picton stood outside on James Street, Mr Dewar extended his right arm to shake his hand but instead allegedly punched him to the left-hand side of his jaw, causing him to fall and strike his head on the pavement. At the time of the punch, Mr Picton was smoking a cigarette and had his other hand in his pocket. Mr Dewar was granted bail for manslaughter but remained behind bars because he had not been granted bail in relation to another alleged coward-punch attack — this time on a man outside Kalamunda Hotel. That alleged attack happened two nights before Mr Picton was assaulted, when Mr Dewar was captured on CCTV allegedly punching a man to the head knocking him out. He is accused of filming the complainant in the Kalamunda case as he lay on the ground and posting the clip to Snapchat, saying: “Don’t hit on my younger sister next time, brother. Keep snoring.” On March 4, Mr Dewar was granted Supreme Court bail in relation to that alleged attack. At the time the prosecution did not oppose the bail application despite Mr Picton’s family’s strong disagreement. Prosecutor Justin Whalley explained that to oppose bail, the State would have to submit that there could be no conditions imposed that would extinguish his risk of reoffending. “That is not a submission that is accurate,” he said. His case will return to court on April 29