Cervantes mystery: Benjamin McLaughlin banned from marinas and harbours after being granted bail

The man arrested after several bizarre events in Cervantes — including the naked 19-year-old screaming from the bow of a boat and a body being found in a burnt out car — has walked free from court as he was banned from visiting any marina or harbour. Benjamin Jack McLaughlin faced Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday accused of assaulting a police officer and a fisherman after he had to be rescued from the ocean. He is also facing a charge of casting away ships. The charges come as detectives from the major crime squad continue to investigate the discovery of human remains in the back of a burnt-out car near Cervantes early on Tuesday. Mr McLaughlin is facing no charges over that grim find. Police will allege Mr McLaughlin was spotted by three fishermen nude and acting erratically on a lobster boat drifting out to sea just after 3am. The trio had spotted flares coming from the vessel, the Condor, on their way out to fish and turned around to assist. On their way out, they came across a car submerged in shallow water south of the Cervantes jetty. One of the fisherman, Brandon, said the trio had thought the car “was just an upturned boat”. When they eventually reached the boat, about 500m offshore, they saw a nude man aboard who was in “distress”, screaming his lungs out before jumping in the water. “We got closer and realised there was a naked man standing on the bow of it, completely in distress,” Brandon said. “He was carrying on pretty erratically on the boat just screaming at the top of his lungs. “He didn’t know where he was, how he got there, what he was doing ... just wanted help and then climbed on the roof and jumped off into the water.” The fisherman pulled him from the water and when police arrived Mr McLaughlin allegedly assaulted a male officer. It is also alleged Mr McLaughlin assaulted one of the fishermen as he tried to help police apprehend him. Just hours before Mr McLaughlin’s arrest, police were called to a vehicle fire just a few kilometres away in Nambung. The 1997 Mitsubishi Pajero was found on its side ablaze on Indian Ocean drive at about 12.30am on Tuesday, with the flames quickly spreading to nearby bushland. After the fire was extinguished, the remains of a person were found inside. Det. Snr Sgt Greg McDonald said police were investigating a “suspected homicide” and the Pajero was last seen travelling at speed from Hamilton Hill about 9pm on Monday. “We are trying to ascertain the nature of the death and is another person responsible or not,” he said. He said police had not yet identified the person in the burnt-out car but that the registered owner of the car was “not connected in any way” and had been accounted for. A post-mortem examination of the burnt-out remains will be conducted next week, with no one charged in relation to the death. The ongoing police investigation into the burnt-out car is also focused on the second car found submerged in the ocean in Cervantes on Tuesday morning, hundreds of metres from the vessel Mr McLaughlin was seen aboard. Det. Snr Sgt Greg McDonald on Wednesday confirmed police “knew” who the owner of that second car was but would not comment on the welfare of that person. Mr McLaughlin did not appear in Perth Magistrates Court in person on Thursday morning, and was instead connected by telephone from the watch house. His lawyer, Paul Holmes, said his client’s alleged offending was a “one-off event”, stressing he had no prior criminal record. Police did not oppose bail on the condition significant protective restrictions be placed on Mr McLaughlin. One was the ban on him approaching within 200m of any marina or harbour. Mr Holmes told the court his client was an avid angler and requested he should still be allowed to go to the beach. “It’s a recreational pastime. He must be able to go to the beach,” he said. “It’s a one-off.” The marina ban will be in place until at least his next court date. Mr McLaughlin is also not allowed to leave WA or go within 50km of Cervantes and must report to police twice a week. He was granted bail on a $5000 personal undertaking and a surety of the same amount and is due to appear in court in person on November 16. He will be released from the Perth watch house on Thursday afternoon. Several family members were in court to support him.