16-year-old boy sentenced for ‘violent’ crime spree including Craigmore home invasion

He was part of a group of kids who robbed an Uber driver with a “sword” and cut the power to a house during a terrifying home invasion. Now this teenager has been sentenced.

A teen boy who went on a “violent” crime spree throughout Adelaide that included a home invasion has received a custodial sentence.

The 16-year-old boy, who can’t be named for legal reasons, appeared in the Adelaide Youth Court on Wednesday where Magistrate Kathryn Hodder warned him against further offending.

“In just over a year you will be 18 years old, if you committed any of the aggravated robbery and aggravated serious criminal trespass offences that I’ve sentenced you for today, when you are 18 or older, then I think it’s important that you understand that you would’ve been sentenced to jail for something like 10 years,” she said.

“Serving time in a prison is not a life anybody wants for you and certainly not for that amount of time and I’m sure you don’t want that either.”

The youth previously pleaded guilty to aggravated commit theft using force, drive motor vehicle without consent and aggravated serious criminal trespass at an occupied residence and a bail breach.

The crime spree in November last year included the theft of an Uber, a servo holdup and home break-in in the northern suburbs, with a group of teens – aged 12 and 16 – wielding “swords”.

Police outside the Craigmore house after the home invasion. Picture: 7NEWS

The spree included the assault of an Uber driver in Glenelg, who had a sword held at his throat while being told to remove his watch and log out of his Apple ID and Uber app on his iPhone.

The teens then robbed an OTR in Paralowie and were part of a terrifying home invasion in Craigmore where the group was arrested.

The 12-year-old from Elizabeth Downs is no longer charged with any wrongdoing.

A second 16-year-old, from Andrews Farm, pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced to four months and two weeks imprisonment.

Ms Hodder said a non-custodial sentence for the offending would be “inadequate” due to the seriousness of the charges.

“The offending on November 23 was a spate of violent offences committed on three occasions in a very short period of time.

Police outside the Craigmore house after the home invasion. Picture: 7NEWS

“The victims were all innocent people … the first two were just doing their jobs by providing services to the public and the third were a family asleep at their home.

“I cannot begin to comprehend the sheer terror that the Uber driver must have experienced when his three passengers pulled machetes or knives and held them at his throat.

“No imagination is necessary to know that the family, including young children, must have experienced sheer terror when they became aware that people were trying to break into their house and realised the power was cut.”

Ms Hodder said she took the teen’s personal circumstances into consideration while sentencing, saying that the youth was adopted, from Ethiopia, by an Adelaide family when he was of a young age.

He was sentenced to three months and one week in custody and upon his release to serve a good behaviour bond for 10 months.