Former Australian television personality Andrew O’Keefe has been arrested by police after reportedly failing a roadside drug test in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
The 51-year-old was driving on Wunulla Road in Point Piper on Friday January 20 when he was pulled over by police. O’Keefe, who used to host Channel 7’s The Chase, was taken to Waverley police station where he underwent a secondary oral fluid test and had his license suspended. Police will allege in court that the test came back positive for methamphetamine.
On Tuesday morning, O’Keefe was arrested at his home in Vaucluse by the police. A police spokesperson stated that he was charged with driving a vehicle with an illicit drug present in his blood and with breach of bail. He was refused bail and appeared before a magistrate at Waverley Local Court on the same day.
O’Keefe was subsequently bailed and ordered to comply with drug and alcohol testing. In addition, he must receive treatment from a psychiatrist and psychologist for mental health issues, and is prohibited from drinking alcohol and taking prohibited drugs. He has to live at a specific address in Vaucluse.
O’Keefe had previously been subject to a non-contact court order with a woman whom he had previously been in a relationship with, and who purchased a house on a street adjacent to Wunulla Road in December 2020.
The former TV star has also been contesting several domestic violence-related charges, including two counts of common assault, two counts of possession of a prohibited drug, two counts of contravening an apprehended violence order, one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and resisting an officer in execution of duty. These charges will be heard in November.
In February, six separate charges involving O’Keefe and a sex worker, where it was alleged that he assaulted and choked the woman, were dropped.
O’Keefe is scheduled to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on May 2.
Source: The Australian
He’s lost and needs help. Someone he knows could step up
Steve Symons, your mate
Why has this man’s AM not been cancelled? Utterly appalling that a man who spits, hits, chokes and verbally assaults a variety of women retains his AM for domestic violence charity work.