Eight young people aged from just 14 packed into stolen Kia cause chaos across Adelaide
A car stolen in a home invasion caused mayhem on Adelaide roads before it was found smashed into a fence, with police swooping on eight youths who had crammed into the SUV.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A car stolen in a home invasion caused chaos on Adelaide roads before it was found smashed into a fence.
Eight males, aged from 14 to 20, were arrested after a crime spree across Adelaide streets was witnessed by police patrols, and watched on static cameras from the Traffic Management Centre.
The chaos began about 1.30am on Thursday when police were called to a home in Lightsview after the occupant reported that her house had been broken into and her red Kia Sportage stolen.
The intruders confronted the residents but they were not injured.
Soon after, at about 2.20am, police received a report that a red Kia had just taken off with stolen petrol from a service station on Grange Rd, Flinders Park.
The car was sighted on South Rd and police did not chase the car, but the Traffic Management Centre tracked the SUV using static traffic cameras, updating police on the car’s location.
Road spikes were deployed on the intersection of South Rd and Regency Rd and caught the Kia – shredding a front tyre, but the car did not stop.
About 3.30am police found the Kia abandoned on the Salisbury Highway where it had crashed into a small wire fence.
SA Police Senior Constable Kate Dawson told ABC morning radio the eight arrested must have been packed into the medium-sized SUV “like a clown car” – with some of them possibly crammed in the boot.
Police dog Axe arrived at the scene and tracked the suspects south through the wetlands to the Dry Creek Railway Station.
Eight males, ranging in ages from 14 to 20, were all arrested and charged with illegal use of a motor vehicle.
The arrests include a 14-year-old Northfield boy, 15-year-old Mansfield Park boy, a 15-year-old Parafield Gardens boy, a 16-year-old Renown Park boy, a 16-year-old Rosewater boy, a 16-year-old Port Augusta West boy, an 18-year-old Christie Downs man, and a 20-year-old Brompton man.
The 18-year-old Christie Downs man, Lyall Lawson, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with one count of driving a motor vehicle without consent and one count of failing to comply with a bail agreement.
Magistrate Benjamin Sale remanded him in custody awaiting the outcome of a home detention bail report.
Mr Lawson will next appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court later this month.
The 14 and two 15-year-olds were refused police bail and will appear in the Youth Court on Thursday.
The others will be bailed to appear in the Youth and Magistrates Courts at a later date.
Investigations are continuing. Anyone with further information that may assist is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on crimestopperssa.com.au or phone 1800 333 000.
First photos: Alleged Cowandilla killer emerges from RAH
A man accused of murder in an Adelaide suburb is no longer in the RAH.
‘I’m so evil’: Alleged bike path booby-trapper fronts court
The man accused of injuring multiple cyclists after he strung a piece of wire across one of Adelaide’s busiest bike paths has faced court for the first time.