Garry Sullivan, 78, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday after being charged in May over an alleged confrontation with two Armaguard employees at Chadstone shopping centre 32 years earlier.
The guards were collecting weekend takings from a cinema when set upon.
An ex-rugby league player who represented Australia in the 1960s and 70s, Sullivan allegedly shot one of the guards in the ankle before the bullet ricocheted and hit the other guard's foot, prosecutor Francesca Holmes told the court.
"He (allegedly) then shoots a bystander in the thigh, shattering his femur, when he makes an attempt to follow (the shooter) to get his number plate," Ms Holmes alleged.
Sullivan, who has not entered a plea yet, is accused of robbing the Armaguard employees of $80,688 and their guns, intentionally causing serious injury and other offences.
Detective Acting Sergeant William Lordanic on Wednesday opposed his release, citing an unacceptable risk he would fail to appear on bail and presented a "clear flight risk".
He said the Queensland resident with no connections to Victoria had a demonstrated history of absconding and had access to a support network capable of helping him evade police.
His daughter Kim Robertson, who attended court with her brother Garry Sullivan junior, said their father was a "regular dad and grandad" who had a strong relationship with his wife Heather and extended family.
Defence lawyer Matthew Cramer cited Sullivan's advanced age, health vulnerability, family support and the prospect of delay in the case as reasons for granting bail.
The man had lost weight in custody because, as a coeliac, he was not eating consistently due to food concerns.
"Think about a 78-year-old man being on the run with these offences, with the conditions he has. That's why I say it's fanciful," Mr Cramer said.
"He was a dedicated career armed robber," magistrate Patrick Southey responded.
The prosecution argued Sullivan "still had the means" to abscond with his alleged accumulated wealth and suspected contingency planning when detectives listened to bugged conversations.
Ms Holmes said Sullivan, who had been jailed for 20 years for armed robberies exceeding $3.2 million, was a fugitive between 1993 and 1996 after he made a brazen escape by cutting a hole in the prison fence before being arrested in South Australia.
"One only needs to look at Dezi Freeman ... to see it's not hard for someone to abscond if they had the means to do so and the capacity," she said.
Mr Cramer retorted: "We're not Dezi. We're a 78-year-old man with a myriad of health concerns."
In refusing bail, Mr Southey said Sullivan's ailments could be adequately treated in custody and was troubled by his tone in bugged conversations suggesting he had people to support him evade authorities.
Sullivan will return to the court for a committal mention on October 13.
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