A survivalist prepper arrested during the manhunt for Dezi Freeman claims he has absolutely no connection to the accused cop killer.
Self-described outlaw biker and sovereign citizen Stephen Mallett, 61, claimed more than 10 tactical officers trained their guns on him during his arrest on Friday night.
It comes as police continue their frantic manhunt for Freeman, who has been at large since Tuesday after allegedly gunning down Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart at Porepunkah.
It’s understood police questioned Mr Mallett, who, like Dezi, is part of the sovereign citizen movement, at Bright Police Station about his connection with Freeman.
Victoria Police provided an update on Sunday to reveal Mr Mallett had been charged with possessing a prohibited imitation firearm and possessing a drug of dependence.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail on Sunday morning in Bright’s main street, he insisted police had made a mistake about his supposed association with Freeman.
Mr Mallett said Freeman was a member of a preppers group he had created on Facebook, but that’s as far as their relationship went.
‘I’ve don’t even know the c***. I’ve never even seen him,’ he said.
Stephen Mallett spoke to Daily Mail in Bright after his arrest as he enjoyed a toastie on the main street
Accused cop killer Dezi Freeman remains on the run after Tuesday’s incident in Porepunkah
‘Everyone around here from Bright to Myrtleford knows him. Why [arrest] me? Have they done their homework and found out I’m an excellent bushman too? So what?’
While he shares Freeman’s survivalist interests, and is himself no fan of police, Mr Mallett insisted he did not condone him allegedly murdering the officers.
He described Freeman as a ‘d***head’.
A shellshocked Mr Mallett recounted the dramatic moment he was arrested at his home amid a thunderstorm on Friday night.
‘It was howling with rain and I heard the “whoop!” (of a police siren), and when I opened my door more than 10 little laser dots were on me,’ he said.
‘There were automatic weapons trained on me, they were ready to shoot, and a big black tank in the driveway.
‘They made me crawl on my hands and knees through the pouring rain, and when I got to the gutter, which had six inches of water in it, they said, “Now lay on your face and drag yourself through it”.
‘I looked up and saw they had their fingers on the trigger.’
The 61-year-old spoke to Daily Mail in Bright’s main street on Sunday
A 450-strong police operation continues in and around Porepunkah in the hunt for Freeman
Mr Mallett said tactical police trained their guns on him (pictured are Special Operations police)
A Bearcat vehicle was allegedly parked outside Mr Mallett’s house
Mr Mallett was then taken to Bright Police Station for questioning, where he alleged he was asked about his connection with Freeman.
‘The coppers in the police station were alright,’ he conceded.
Mr Mallett said police asked him if he knew what Freeman ‘would do’, to which he said, ‘I have no f***king idea’.
‘What does it matter what I think he’d do? They asked some really dumb questions.’
He said his only relationship with Freeman was starting an Australian preppers group that is ‘mostly about sustainability’ many years ago.
After a search of his home, police allegedly found weapons and cannabis at about 4.45pm on Friday.
He has been charged with being a prohibited person possessing an imitation firearm and possessing a drug of dependence.
He was bailed to appear before Myrtleford Magistrate’s Court on October 3.
The arrest occured in thunderstorm conditions on friday night in the High Country
Dezi is widely known to be ‘sovereign citizen’ – but Mr Mallett ‘has never seen him’
He was still visibly shaken after the incident and says he is traumatised
Mr Mallett makes and sells wooden knives, and says he has an American civil war replica Colt .45 gun.
He said it was a ‘toy… an imitation. I was never going to take it out in public’.
Mr Mallett said he had ‘a couple of ounces’ of marijuana, but that was ‘nobody’s business’.
‘I don’t hurt nobody. I keep to myself. I am reclusive,’ he said.
He rejected the notion that he was a doomsday prepper, and said he was more interested in sustainability and bushmanship.
Despite being released, Mr Mallett said police had kept his phone.
‘I have heart problems and lots of doctors appointments coming up, and a son… I have no way of contacting any of them,’ he said.
‘They said they wanted my phone because they were looking for things leading up to the shooting.
Freeman’s wife Mali on sunday urged her husband to turn himself in
‘Nobody was talking about that because nobody knew it would happen. They were trying to make out like it was premeditated… how would I f**king know? I have nothing to do with him.’
With his voice shaking, he admitted: ‘I will be traumatised by this for the rest of my life, but I won’t cry about it until the day I die.
‘I live in a small town and I will never, ever live this down.’
Daily Mail contacted Victoria Police for comment, but they declined because Mr Mallett’s matter is now before the courts.
This comes as Freeman’s 42-year-old wife Amalia – or Mali – issued a desperate plea on Sunday for her husband to turn himself in.
‘We echo the requests of the Victoria Police for the swift and safe conclusion of this tragedy,’ Ms Freeman said via her lawyers.
‘I lend my full support to Victoria Police in their search for my husband and will co-operate with Victoria Police in any way that I can.
‘Please Dezi, if you see or hear this, call 000 and arrange a surrender plan with the police.’
Tough conditions have impacted search efforts in recent days with thunderstorms, lashings of rain and hail battering the rural town.
