Police have been granted the right to use “reasonable force” in collecting a DNA sample from 31-year-old Christopher Raftopoulos.
The accused perpetrator behind a series of stabbing attacks that unfolded across Melbourne earlier this month.
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Raftopoulos faces charges related to four separate incidents on Saturday, January 6, and the early hours of the following day, where he allegedly attacked five individuals.
During a Friday’s hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, Raftopoulos’s lawyer, Daniel Thompson, conveyed that his client, currently in custody, did not consent to a police-requested mouth swab.
After hearing the arguments, Magistrate Kieran Gilligan determined that Raftopoulos was incapable of providing informed consent for the DNA swab and subsequently ordered it to be obtained compulsorily.
Magistrate Gilligan said: “A police officer may use reasonable force to enable the procedure to be conducted.”
“I’m satisfied Mr Raftopoulos is a relevant suspect, and a police officer believes on reasonable grounds the person has committed the offence. Nearly all of the incidents are on CCTV footage,” Magistrate Gilligan added.
The court revealed that police sought to compare the DNA results from the mouth swab to a knife seized during the investigation.
Raftopoulos is currently facing 14 assault-related charges and one charge of possessing a controlled weapon without lawful excuse.
Police allege that he stabbed a 24-year-old man in the Melbourne CBD, targeted a man and woman in St Kilda East, stabbed another male victim in St Kilda, and committed a further attack on a man in Southbank.
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