17-year-old boy sentenced in Townsville District Court for stolen car spree, stabbing

A 17-year-old stabbed one woman in the hand and cut another as he threw her into the street. Find out why a judge said this case was one of the most troubling he had encountered in his 25-year career.

A 17-year-old boy appeared in Townsville District Court after he cut two women as he tried to drag them from their vehicles.

The ringleader of a group of youth criminals who stole seven cars over the course of nine days, stabbed a woman with a serrated knife, and threw another into the street during a violent crime spree.

A 17-year-old boy appeared in the Townsville District Court a day before his 18th birthday after setting a stolen car on fire and joining a group of kids in a rampage through the city streets.

Crown prosecutor Thomasina Papadimitriou said the boy, along with others, jumped the fence of a Kirwan home on May 12, stealing a Land Cruiser and a Volkswagen.

In the early hours of the morning, the group took the stolen cars to Harold Phillips Park, where the 17-year-old, alongside another child, pulled branches off trees and used them to set the Volkswagen alight.

Hours later, a police helicopter tracked the group through Townsville, witnessing them attempting to steal other cars that were stopped at traffic lights.

Ms. Papadimitriou said one victim was waiting at a traffic light with her sick child in the back seat when the 17-year-old approached her car.

“(He) opened the door, had a knife, and tried to pull her from the car,” she said.

“While trying to remove her from the vehicle, he stabbed her thumb and upper arm with the knife.”

The court heard that the cut to her thumb required surgery.

After failing to drag the woman from the car, the group ran back to the Land Cruiser and continued their rampage around the city.

Ms. Papadimitriou said the group stopped again when they found another woman — who was using crutches to walk — leaving her house and getting into her car.

“(The 17-year-old) ran over to her car first. He had a knife and cut her finger when he pried her from the car and threw her onto the ground,” she said.

In the woman’s victim impact statement, she said she “couldn’t believe that someone could throw” her that far.

During the attack, the woman sustained a cut to her finger and bruising to her arm.

The following day, the 17-year-old was spotted driving around in a stolen BMW.

That night, he broke into another home and stole a BMW X6.

Defence barrister Michael Hibble said the boy would soon be a “small fish in a big pond” when he was transferred to the Townsville Correctional Centre after turning 18.

He argued that the 17-year-old suffered from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and had a challenging upbringing that affected his behaviour and intellectual abilities.

During his sentencing, Judge Coker described the boy’s actions as “animalistic.”

“I have been a judge for more than a quarter of a century in one court or another, and rarely have I been as troubled as I was when I watched the POLAIR films,” he said.

“It was a breakdown in civilised behaviour and experience.”

The 17-year-old pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, with his release date set after serving 50 per cent of his sentence.

The 339 days he spent in pre-sentence custody were declared as time served.

Convictions were recorded for the wounding offence.

Originally published as 17-year-old boy sentenced in Townsville District Court for stolen car spree, stabbing