Canberra man facing driving and fraud charges allegedly strikes journalist outside court

A Canberra man accused of defrauding an elderly woman of nearly $280,000 allegedly hit a journalist in the face and threw another’s bag across the road as he left court today.

James Lawrence Michael Raftery was last month charged with dishonestly obtaining $278,459.20 from an 89-year-old Yarralumla woman over a four-month period in 2019.

After being granted bail, he left the court through an emergency exit, setting off an alarm.

Today, Mr Raftery faced the ACT Magistrates…