"Lucky to be alive": Concerning Andrew O'Keefe update
Andrew O'Keefe will remain in jail after his bail was revoked, just days after being arrested on drug charges.
The former TV host was arrested on Monday and charged with drug possession after police searched a nearby car and allegedly found methamphetamine.
His arrest came just hours after the 52-year-old was discharged from the hospital, after he was revived by paramedics in the early hours on Sunday morning after an alleged drug overdose.
In Waverley Local Court on Tuesday, Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge said O’Keefe was “lucky to be alive” as she read a police statement of facts on an application to detain the former TV host rather than let him out on bail again.
O'Keefe was out on bail at the time of the alleged overdose, after allegedly breaching a court order, trespassing and intimidating a man in Sydney’s eastern suburbs in July.
O’Keefe’s lawyer did not argue against the application and the magistrate revoked his bail, meaning he will remain custody before his return to court in October.
“If he wants to stay alive that’s the best thing to do,” Milledge said.
O’Keefe’s lawyer suggested a possible application for release on the next occasion for O’Keefe to receive treatment but Milledge said “a “highly persuasive” argument would be required.
O’Keefe’s frequent appearances in court are “absolutely tragic” and “very, very sad,” the magistrate said.
“He’s a frequent flyer, he’s just so used to it,” she said.
“The mental health applications, the rehab, all been tried, and tested, and failed.
“I just don’t see the same thing over and over again is going to be working for him and, god help him, it’s a shame that he doesn’t have an epiphany.”
Image credits: Seven News