Arson attack at Reynella barber shop | Multiple grass fires in the southern suburbs
A Reynella barber shop was the target of an arson attack on Saturday morning. Meanwhile, several deliberate grass fires have kept police busy in the southern suburbs.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Rolling South Australia Police and emergency services news starting Sunday, January 17.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 23
BUSINESS TORCHED AT REYNELLA
A barber shop was torched in suspicious circumstances at Reynella.
Smoke from inside the shop was reported to emergency services at about 5.30am Saturday morning.
It was revealed that the front door had been forced open and a fire was lit inside, causing $30,000 damage.
Investigations are ongoing.
Police ask those with information to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
CARS TORCHED AT SEMAPHORE PARK
Three cars were damaged by fire at Semaphore Park.
Residents on Bower Road reported a loud explosion to emergency services at midnight on Friday.
Crews arrived to find a Mitsubishi sedan on fire under a carport at the front of the complex.
A BMW sedan and a Nissan sedan were also damaged as they were parked both sides of the Mitsubishi.
Police are investigating the incident and ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
SOUTHERN SUBURBS GRASS FIRES
Several deliberately lit grass fires burnt overnight in the southern suburbs.
Multiple fires caught the attention of police and MFS crews along the rail corridor at Christies Downs and Lonsdale.
The first fire was reported near a bike track between Christies Beach High School and the rail line at about midnight.
The second fire was spotted adjacent to Justin Crescent shortly after 1am.
Another fire was found near the intersection of O’Sullvians Beach Road and Roxburgh Avenue at 2.15am.
All the fires were extinguished promptly.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 22
SHOCKING DISCOVERY IN TRUCK
Police have been left shocked after they found the steering column of a truck being held up by a strap.
The B-double, driven by a 26-year-old Queensland man, stopped at the Oodla Wirra COVID checkpoint after 4pm yesterday. Motorists told police they had seen it driving erratically on the Barrier Highway, straddling the dividing lines.
When police looked in the truck, they found an orange ratchet strap holding up the steering column to keep it in place.
Police said the truck was “totally unsafe … especially at high speed on country roads”.
The driver was reported for driving an unsafe heavy vehicle and failing to keep left of the dividing lines.
The Victorian registered Western Star truck was defected and towed from the scene.
It will have to be repaired and inspected before being allowed back on the road.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21
SEARCH FOR MISSING SNORKELLER
Grave fears were held on Thursday night for a snorkeller missing near Port MacDonnell in the state’s South East.
An air and sea search was launched after an alert was raised just before 5pm with police joining local fishers, Fisheries SA staff and the SES to try to locate the man, missing in waters off Surfers Way.
The search continued well in to the night but was suspended at 9.30pm.
It will resume at first light.
Port MacDonnell is about 480km southeast of Adelaide.
The search comes just over a week after a woman was rescued after being dragged out to sea during a night dive at Port Noarlunga.
HOTEL ROBBERY AT KENSINGTON
A man is on the run after threatening staff in an overnight robbery at a Kensington hotel.
Police have released CCTV images and video of the suspect, appealing for information on the incident from the public.
The suspect entered the gaming room of the Britannia Hotel on Kensington with a bag, demanding money from staff about 1.30am Thursday.
He fled on foot shortly after with the cash, last seen heading north through the hotel carpark, which fronts Fullarton Road.
The male suspect is caucasian, 184cm tall, with a muscular build, wearing a black hoodie, shoes and jeans, socks on his hands and a white bandana around his neck.
There were no physical injuries in the ordeal.
Anyone with information on the robbery is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
SUPERMARKET WORKER ASSAULTED AT SMITHFIELD
A supermarket worker has been assaulted by three youths, before the suspects took off with bread and crumpets at Smithfield this morning.
A shop assistant was unloading bread from the loading bay area of the Munno Para Shopping Centre on Main North Road about 4am Thursday when the youths turned up.
They began taking bread and crumpets from the crates.
When asked to put the items backs and leave the area, the three males aged between 13 and 17, assaulted the worker by punching him several times before taking off with the goods.
The victim, a 52-year-old man, was taken to the Lyell McEwin Hospital with a cut lip requiring stitches, a cut to the eye and bruising to the body.
The teens left the area on foot. Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20
STOLEN CAR DUMPED BY TEENS
A teenager has been arrested after he stole a car with a group of other young people at Pennington on Tuesday night.
The teens pulled up to Ormonde Ave in a black Toyota Prado that had front-end damage at 8.50pm, alerting a member of the public who called the police.
The boys left the car and walked towards Torrens Road.
Police checked the registration of the car, revealing it had been stolen from Angle Park on Saturday.
Police Dog Jax was called in to search for the teens, locating them nearby on Harrison Road.
The boys were searched with officers allegedly finding the stolen keys in one of their pockets.
A 14-year-old boy from Ingle Farm was arrested and charged with illegal use of a motor vehicle and theft.
He was refused bail and will appear in the Port Adelaide Youth Court on Wednesday.
TEENS ARRESTED AFTER BOTTLE SHOP THEFT
Four teenagers were arrested after allegedly stealing alcohol from a St Peters bottle shop.
The teens smashed a glass door at the front of the shop on Payneham Road about 8.50pm on Tuesday night and took several bottles of alcohol from the shelves.
They got on a bus heading towards the city, only to be met by police at Hindmarsh Square in the city.
A 15-year-old Hackham West boy, a 16-year-old girl from Eden Hills, a 15-year-old girl from Walkley Heights, and a 15-year-old girl from Blakeview were all charged with property damage and theft.
The boy was refused police bail and is expected to appear in the Adelaide Youth Court on Wednesday.
The girls were given bail to appear on 24 February.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 19
DRINK DRIVER SO DRUNK SHE ‘COULD NOT STAND’
A drink driver has been arrested after police say she was so drunk she could not stand when asked to get out of the car at Port Augusta on Monday.
Police stopped a black Ford sedan driving erratically west on Tassie Stree about 5pm Monday.
Police say when an officer spoke to the female driver, her speech was slurred and she smelled strongly of alcohol.
When asked to exit the vehicle, the 33-year-old Mimili woman could not stand without assistance and fell to the ground, police allege.
Police checks revealed the driver was unlicensed and the car was unregistered and uninsured.
She was so intoxicated she was incapable of submitting a blood-alcohol test, police allege.
The woman was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving unlicensed, driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.
She was bailed to appear in the Port Augusta Magistrates Court at a later date.
A passenger in the car, a 35-year-old Whyalla man, was arrested after he was discovered to be breaching home detention bail. He was refused bail to appear in Local Court on Tuesday.
A police spokesman said: “Fortunately, the woman was stopped before she could cause a serious crash, injuring herself or another person in what was a busy area of Port Augusta”.
PLAYGROUND SET ON FIRE
A playground has been deliberately set on fire at Paralowie.
The fire was reported to police at 3am on Tuesday morning on the corner of Burton Road and Liberator Drive.
Fire crews were able to quickly extinguish the blaze before it spread, but significant damage was caused to the equipment.
Fire Cause Investigators will be attending the scene again on Tuesday morning, and believe the fire was deliberately lit.
HOMEMADE BOMB DAMAGES HOME
A homemade explosive device shattered the window of a Parafield Gardens home on Tuesday night.
Shortly after midnight, an explosion was reported to police on Bauhinia Drive.
The explosive device was placed at the front of the house, and shattered the front window.
None of the six people inside the home were injured.
Police do not believe the incident was random, and ask anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
MONDAY, JANUARY 18
DRUGS AND GUNS FOUND AT PORT PIRIE
A drug and gel blaster seizure has led to the arrest of a Port Pirie man.
Police searched the home on Three Chain Road following a break-in and assault, locating a 46-year-old male with head and facial injuries.
He was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police arrested a 50-year-old Port Pirie man who was known to the victim.
His arrest led to a search of his home, where police discovered a cache of weapons and drugs.
Unregistered gel blasters, bongs, glass ice pipes, steroids and a small amount of fantasy and methamphetamine were discovered in the haul.
He was charged with aggravated serious criminal trespass, assault causing harm, possess firearms without a licence and drug offences.
The suspect was refused bail and appeared in the Port Pirie Magistrates Court on Monday afternoon.
THEFT OF TELESCOPES FROM WALLAROO
A set of several unique telescopes has been stolen from a Wallaroo store.
Sometime between Tuesday December 29 and Wednesday January 13, a business on the corner of Sharples and Betts Road was broken into.
The thieves took a number of valuable items, including a Takahashi FFQ106.
Anyone who locates the telescopes or has information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 17
SPEEDING LEARNER LEADS POLICE ON PURSUIT
A speeding learner driver has been arrested and charged with a raft of offences after he led police on a pursuit at Gillman on Saturday night.
Police noticed a blue commodore travelling 130km/h in a 60km/h zone on the Grand Trunkway about 10pm.
Patrols activated their emergency lights and attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused to stop and continued north onto Garden Island. A pursuit was terminated a short time later for safety reasons.
A few minutes later, the wanted vehicle was found abandoned on the island, and a driver and two passengers were found hiding in nearby bushes.
The driver, a 25-year-old Ingle Farm man was drug tested, allegedly returning a positive result to cannabis.
The man was on his learner’s permit, but did not have his L-plates on display, and did not have a supervising driver present.
He was reported for driving at a speed dangerous to the public, engaging in a police pursuit, breaching his learner’s permit conditions and drug driving. He will appear in court at a later date.
The car was impounded for 28 days and defected for mechanical faults.
ARSON AT MARION REAL ESTATE OFFICE
A fire police say was sparked by a molotov cocktail has caused substantial damage to a real estate office at Marion overnight.
The fire started about 5am on Sunday, where crews rushed to Sturt Road following reports of large flames at a business.
The fire was extinguished quickly, and police believe the cause was arson. The Harcourts Packham Real Estate building was extensively damaged.
Anyone who saw suspicious activity in the area is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
SMOKE BILLOWS FROM NARACOORTE HOUSE FIRE
A house has been significantly damaged in a fire at Naracoorte on Sunday afternoon.
Occupants dialled Triple-0 around 3.30pm when their Wardle Crescent home was ablaze.
When firefighters arrived at the scene the kitchen and loungeroom were on fire, and smoke was billowing from the roof.
Crews contained the fire to the impacted rooms, but the house sustained extreme smoke and structural damage.
Early estimates for damage costs are $80,000.
Fire cause investigators were at the scene on Sunday afternoon to determine what sparked the blaze.
DISTRESSED SWIMMER SAVED IN RESCUE MISSION
A swimmer who was swept off the rocks in waters off Inneston in the Yorke Peninsula has been saved after a rescue mission.
The 30-year-old male came into troubled waters about 2.30pm Sunday at Browns Beach near Pondalowie Bay.
Marine search and rescue, including boats and a helicopter were deployed, and the man was being taken about 100m off shore. He was brought to the sand about an hour later, and declined medical treatment.
TWO BURNT AFTER BBQ EXPLOSION
Two teenagers have suffered serious burns after a barbecue exploded at Glengowrie this morning.
The incident occurred on Mitchell Street about 3.30am Sunday.
Two 18-year-olds were taken to hospital for treatment of significant facial burns.
Both patients are in a stable condition.
Equestrian to challenge ‘horse abuse’ video’s authenticity
A controversial showjumping coach has faced court charged with animal cruelty - but will call video of the alleged incident into question.
Occupant’s lucky escape after ‘extremely intense’ blaze destroys home
A man has been rescued from an Adelaide home after a fierce blaze quickly tore through the property in the early hours of Wednesday morning.