Man given suspended sentence of nine days for kayaking into SA on the Glenelg River
Several people have tried hiding in trucks and trains to enter South Australia – but this man tried coming in on a kayak.
Police & Courts
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Police and emergency services news for the week beginning Sunday, November 1
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7
MAN KAYAKED INTO SA WITHOUT FORMS
A who used a kayak into SA from Victoria on the Glenelg River without entry forms was given a suspended sentence for breaching COVID-19 directions.
Police were notified on Monday that the man was believed to have entered the state unlawfully. He was contacted by officers to attend a SA police station, where he was arrested for breaching Emergency Management Directions.
Police said he used a kayak to travel on the Glenelg River into SA.
He was sentenced to nine days imprisonment, which was suspended by a judge.
The man has since returned to Victoria.
Police revealed the incident on Saturday.
TEEN ‘CUT UP’ WITH A MULTI-TOOL
A teenager has been treated in hospital after a man allegedly cut his face and finger with a multi-tool in the CBD on Saturday morning.
The incident was filmed by a passer-by. SEE THE VIDEO HERE
TAXI DRIVER ROBBED AT KNIFEPOINT
A man has been arrested for allegedly robbing a taxi driver at knifepoint on Saturday morning.
The man, 27, of Taperoo, allegedly used a knife to threaten the driver on the corner of Main North Road and Ballville Street at Prospect just after 1.30am.
Police say he stole the driver’s mobile phone and a small amount of cash.
Officers set up cordons in the area and found the 27-year-old nearby.
He was arrested and refused bail to appear in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday, charged with aggravated robbery.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6
DRUG DRIVER CAUGHT WITH BONG AND ICE PIPE
An unlicensed truck driver will face courtafter he was stopped at a border checkpoint and found in possession of drugs.
Police were conducting routine border control duties on the Barrier Highway at Oodla Wirra in the state’s Mid North when they stopped a truck with furniture about 5.30pm on Thursday.
Officers could smell cannabis coming from the truck and drug-tested the driver, who returned a positive test to cannabis and methamphetamine.
A search of the truck also uncovered a small amount of cannabis and methamphetamine, plus a bong and ice pipe.
The 26-year-old driver from the Oodla Wirra area was reported for drug driving, driving unlicensed after it was discovered he never held a driver’s licence, breaching an interlock system and unlawful possession of prescription drugs. He was fined for cannabis possession.
A 34-year-old man from the Oodla Wirra area, who was a passenger in the truck, was also issued a drug diversion for the possession of methamphetamine and an ice pipe.
SAWN-OFF SHOTGUN FOUND INSIDE CAR
A man has been arrested after police allegedly found a stolen sawn-off shotgun inside his car at Seaton on Friday morning.
Police stopped the man, 35, of Largs Bay, for a random driver test on Matthews Avenue about 2.15am.
Officers had cause to search his Toyota Corolla – and inside they allegedly found an ice pipe, a shotgun cartridge and a sawn-off shotgun in the boot.
It is alleged the shotgun was stolen from a Yorke Peninsula address during a break-in in 2011.
Police also searched the man’s Largs Bay home and found several shotgun cartridges, a small quantity of fireworks, a slingshot and a machete.
He was arrested and charged with possessing a firearm without a licence, possessing ammunition, two counts of carrying an offensive weapon and possessing a prohibited weapon.
The 35-year-old was refused bail to appear in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday afternoon.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5
WOMAN CRITICAL AFTER VEHICLE FALL
A woman is fighting for life after falling out of a moving vehicle northwest of Ceduna on Thursday evening.
Police say the incident happened on Micky Free Lawrie Drive at Koonibba just before 7.30pm.
The woman, 20, of Ceduna, was taken to the Ceduna Hospital before being flown to Adelaide.
She remains in a critical condition, while local detectives investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
SCAMMERS TRY TO SCAM POLICE
Police in charge of catching scammers have been targeted by scammers claiming to work for the National Broadband Network.
The Financial Cybercrime Investigation Branch received a call from the scammer and followed the instructions of the caller to gain insight into how the scam was operating.
The caller told the officer there had been an internet security breach and was directed to a website, www.nbn247.weebly.com, which they said was affiliated with the NBN.
The caller asked the investigator to download a software called SupRemo. When asked why they had to download the software the caller hesitated, and replied the software would help fix their internet problem.
The call was eventually terminated.
Police say the software the scammer was attempting to install on their computer gives them access to the user’s personal information, passwords and online banking.
“Our advice to the community is to not download software that you are not familiar with, and never at the direction of someone over the phone,” a police spokesman said.
“Also, if you receive a call and cannot be certain who you are speaking to, hang up the phone and call the organisation back on a known, reputable number.”
BUS DRIVER THREATENED WITH SCISSORS
A man has been arrested after threatening a bus driver with a pair of scissors at Windsor Gardens this morning.
The bus driver reported she was being threatened by a passenger, who was armed with a pair of scissors, around 9.30am Thursday.
The driver pulled over and stopped at Brecon Street, where the male suspect was arrested.
The bus driver and passengers were not hurt.
An 18-year-old Hillcrest man was charged with carrying an offensive weapon, aggravated assault and making threats to cause harm.
He was bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court in January.
MAN FIVE TIMES OVER LOSES LICENCE
A man caught driving on the wrong side of the road at Bordertown this week has lost his licence after police say he blew five times over the legal blood alcohol limit.
The Honda was spotted driving on the wrong side of the road in the Bordertown township around 3pm Wednesday. The car was stopped and the driver breath tested, where he allegedly returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.283, more than five times over the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.05.
The 44-year-old Bordertown man was issued a 12-month instant loss of licence, and his car was clamped for a month.
At around 11.30pm the same day a car was reported to have crashed into a Stobie pole behind the Naracoorte Fire Station.
The 24-year-old Naracoorte man was breath-tested and allegedly returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.169, more than three times over the legal limit. He also had his licence disqualified for 12 months and his car impounded for 28 days.
Both drivers will appear in court at a later date.
THOUSANDS HIT BY POLICE BLITZ
Almost 10,000 motorists have been caught breaking road rules during a month-long police operation across South Australia.
Throughout October, police sprung nearly 5000 motorists committing offences related to the “Fatal Five” causes of trauma on the state’s roads.
These are drink or drug driving, speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, being distracted or driving dangerously.
A further 5000 drivers were also caught driving while unlicensed, had their vehicle impounded or were defected during the operation, dubbed “High Impact Fatal Five”.
The results of the campaign revealed of one in every 113 drivers tested were drink driving and one in eight were drug driving.
More than 3500 drivers were caught speeding; most were issued fines while just under 1000 were cautioned.
A total of 256 drivers were detected committing a seatbelt offence, 420 were pinged for a distraction offence and 1313 were nabbed driving while unlicensed or disqualified.
SA Police inspector Cindy Healey said the results demonstrated the “rigour with which police are targeting irresponsible and dangerous behaviours on our roads”.
“We continually run high impact enforcement strategies like this operation to make it clear that if you do the wrong thing, you will get caught,” she said.
“Road safety is the responsibility of everyone and we make no apologies for enforcing the law in relation to road use and educating drivers of the serious risks inherent with their behaviours.”
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4
VEHICLE SOUGHT AFTER ELIZABETH STABBING
Police have released CCTV to help identify a vehicle whose driver is the suspect of an Elizabeth North stabbing last week.
A man presented himself at the SA Ambulance depot at Elizabeth Park at 5.30pm on Tuesday, October 27. He was bleeding from a stab wound to his right arm.
The 31-year-old Craigmore man was treated at the scene, before being taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for urgent medical treatment.
The crime scene was determined at Whitsbury Road, Elizabeth North.
The suspect vehicle is a black SUV with black rims, a flat roof rack and a silver cover on the spare wheel mounter on the back of the vehicle.
It stopped on Whitsbury Road, and the occupant exited the car and stabbed the vehicle in the forearm, police say.
The incident is not considered random.
Police are investigating the incident, and ask anyone who may recognise the vehicle to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
POLICE REQUEST FOOTAGE OF STOLEN CAR
Dashcam footage could assist police in arresting a person responsible for stealing a red Mazda which was reportedly driven on the wrong side of the road at Highbury over the weekend.
The Mazda CX-9 with registration S429BRM was stolen from a home on Lower North East Road at Highbury around 5.30am on Saturday.
The stolen Mazda was driven on the wrong side of Lower North East Road in a westerly direction towards oncoming traffic, and drove towards a grey/silver coloured Toyota Hilux which had black rims.
Police located the stolen car on Dampier Avenue at Hope Valley on Tuesday.
Police are asking members of the public who may have been travelling in the area, and the driver of the Toyotas Hilux, for dashcam footage,
Anyone with further information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
SUBMERGED CAR AND BODY FOUND IN THE MURRAY
A man’s body has been pulled from a submerged car in the River Murray at Murtho, north of Renmark. A marine search and rescue was called at the Heading Cliffs Lookout on Heading Road around 7pm Tuesday, after reports a car was submerged in the water.
The body of a 68-year-old Limestone Coast man was recovered from the vehicle by Water Operations Unit divers on Wednesday morning.
The man’s death is not being treated as suspicious, and a report is being prepared for the Coroner.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3
POLICE HUNT SUSPECTS AFTER GLENELG GRAFFITI SPREE
Two teenagers have been arrested while police hunt further suspects following a graffiti spree in Glenelg on Tuesday night. Police say a group of six or seven males, aged between the ages of 12 to 20, marked graffiti tags on various building in highly visible areas of Glenelg, including Holdfast Shores Marina and the Glenelg Pier areas, just before 7pm Monday.
The offending occurred while the sun was still up and suspects appeared undeterred by the presence of witnesses.
Police searched the area but could not find the suspects.
A 17-year-old Beverley boy and an 18-year-old Seaton man were both arrested and charged with several counts of marking graffiti and property damage on Tuesday.
The Beverley boy was further charged with robbery and shop theft regarding a separate incident. He was refused bail to appear in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday. The Seaton man was granted bail to appear in court in January.
Police are hoping witnesses will provide information on the suspects in relation to the graffiti offences, and ask anyone with information or video footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
MAN SPEEDS THROUGH YAMBA CHECKPOINT
A man will appear in court after he allegedly sped through a border checkpoint at Yamba on Tuesday morning.
The man, 57, of Stirling, was driving from Victoria, but refused to stop at the checkpoint.
Police pursued the man for a short distance before the chase was called off for safety reasons.
He eventually stopped after running low on petrol.
The man was arrested and charged with speeding, driving dangerously to escape police pursuit and failing to comply with COVID-19 directions.
He was refused bail to appear in the Berri magistrates Court.
DELAYS ON SOUTH EASTERN FREEWAY
Hills-bound motorists experienced heavy delays on Tuesday evening after a four-car crash at the Heysen Tunnels caused parts of the South Eastern Freeway’s downtrack to close.
The domino effect crash happened just after 5pm in peak hour in the Heysen Tunnels, forcing the closure of part of the freeway. Motorists were diverted off the road at Eagle On The Hill while tows were arranged.
No one was injured in the crash.
FIRE DESTROYS COLONEL LIGHT GARDENS HOME
A family-of-five has escaped from their Colonel Light Gardens home after it went up in flames in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
More than 20 MFS firefighters rushed to the home, on East Parkway, as the fire took hold about 2am.
Flames were showing from the roof and the rear of the property, with crews taking about one hour to bring the blaze under control.
Two adults and three children managed to escape from the home after they were woken up by smoke alarms.
Neighbours said the home was sold to the family earlier this year.
Fire Cause Investigators were examining the scene on Tuesday morning.
A family of five has escaped from their Colonel Light Gardens home as it went up in flames overnight @theTiser pic.twitter.com/qKIfjdntXj
— Gabriel Polychronis (@G_Polychronis) November 2, 2020
TWO ON THE RUN AFTER PETROL DRIVE-OFFS
Two stolen cars have been dumped after being used in petrol drive-offs at Para Hills on Tuesday morning.
Police say a white Mitsubishi Lancer and a grey Range Rover were travelling together and used in petrol drive-offs at a petrol station on Bridge Road just before 5am.
Officers later found the two cars dumped on Emerald Drive and Sullivan Road at Ingle Farm.
Police cordoned off the area and were searching for the two drivers with the assistance of police dog Havoc.
Both vehicles were stolen with their keys during house break-ins. The Lancer was taken from a Hope Valley address on Monday, while the Range Rover was stolen from an Ingle Farm home some time between Monday night and early Tuesday morning.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2
DELIVERY CAR STOLEN AND CRASHED
A man has been arrested for allegedly stealing a food delivery driver’s Toyota Camry, which was left running unattended on Hindley Street, before crashing it at Lockleys.
The man, 33, of Oaklands Park, was seen driving the stolen car erratically on West Terrace and Sir Donald Bradman Drive.
He then allegedly drove through a red light and smashed into another car at the intersection of Tapleys Hill Road and Sir Donald Bradman Drive.
The 33-year-old ran from the scene, but police dogs Marley and Arnie found him in Export Park near the airport.
He was arrested and charged with illegal use, driving in a manner dangerous, driving disqualified and fail to stop after a crash. He was refused bail to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The driver of the other vehicle in the crash, a 50-year-old, suffered just minor injuries and was treated at the scene
POLICE HUNT ASSAULT SUSPECT AFTER VIOLENT BRAWL
Police are investigating a violent brawl caught on video on Hindley Street over the weekend – leaving a man unconscious and a suspect on the run.
The altercation happened near Blyth Street just after 5am Sunday morning between two men and a group of witnesses.
Upon arrival police found a 32-year-old Adelaide man unconscious.
The victim was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for treatment, and his injuries are not considered life-threatening.
The second man left the area before police arrived on scene.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
You can remain anonymous.
INDECENT BEHAVIOUR AT BURTON
Police are investigating an incident where a man riding a bicycle acted indecently in front of a woman at Burton at the weekend. A woman was walking her dog through Kaurna Park Wetlands, near Waterloo Corner Road when a man riding a bicycle approached her around 2.30pm Sunday. He acted in an indecent behaviour before riding off. The suspect is described as being caucasian, aged in his 30s with short dark hair and a slim build. He was wearing a dark grey T-shirt and light grey shorts, riding a dark coloured bicycle. Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
WILLIAMSTOWN HOUSE FIRE
A fire has destroyed a home in the Barossa Valley. Flames broke out at a home on Winters Road at Williamstown about 11am on Monday. A Country Fire Service spokeswoman said the house was fully alight when firefighters arrived. They were unable to enter the property and had to take defensive measures to fully extinguish the blaze. The damage bill was estimated at $300,000. Fire Cause Investigators have examined the scene.
MAN HIDES FROM POLICE IN WARDROBE
A Yorketown man has been arrested after allegedly evading police for more than six weeks, with officers finding him hiding in a wardrobe.
It is alleged the man, who had an outstanding warrant against him, dangerously drove away from police at speed on September 14. Officers called off the pursuit for safety reasons.
Since then, police searched several addresses for the man, seizing four cannabis plants from one of the properties, before finding the man hiding in a wardrobe at Yorketown.
He was arrested and charged with cultivating cannabis, resisting arrest, failing to stop, dangerous driving and driving unlicensed, unregistered and uninsured.
The man was granted bail to appear in the Maitland Magistrates Court next month.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1
‘DRUNK’ DRIVER SMASHES INTO BUSINESS
A drink driver has been arrested for crashing into a business at Rosewater just before midnight on Sunday.
Police say a man, 27, of Rosewater, first crashed into a letterbox on Elizabeth Street while driving a Holden ute.
He then got out of the ute and jumped in a Commodore sedan, which he allegedly crashed into a business on Grand Junction Road at Rosewater.
The car smashed through the front doors and then into the interior common wall of the business next door.
He was breath tested and returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.084. He was charged with aggravated drive without due care and drink driving.
The 27-year-old will appear in court at a later date after he lost his licence for six months.
MAN DIES IN BURRA CRASH
A man has died following a crash on Goyder Highway at Burra on Sunday afternoon.
At 3.10pm, police were called to a two-car crash on the highway near White Road after a trailer attached to a Holden Colorado became unhitched and swung into an oncoming Commodore sedan.
The driver of the Commodore – a 75-year-old man from Burra – died at the scene.
A female passenger, also from Burra, was taken to the local hospital where she was treated for minor injuries.
An 81-year-old man who was driving the Colorado was treated in hospital for minor injuries.
Goyder Highway is closed to all traffic between White Road and Bucklands Hill Road and police are asking motorists to avoid the area if possible.
Major Crash investigators are on their way to the crash site.
The man’s death is the 73rd life lost on our roads this year compared to 88 for the same time last year.
CORONER’S REPORT FOLLOWS SPA DEATH
Police are preparing a report for the coroner after a woman was pulled unconscious from a spa at Modbury North.
Emergency services were called to a home at Noojee Court just after 9am on Sunday, but could not save the 39-year-old Adelaide woman.
There are no suspicious circumstances.
SERIOUS INJURIES IN LIGHT PLANE CRASH
A man was taken to hospital after sustaining serious injuries in a light plane crash in the South East on Sunday.
Emergency services were called to Woolumbool Road, east of Naracoorte, after reports a light plane had crashed into a paddock, bringing down power lines and coming to rest on its roof.
SA Police said the power lines caused minor damage to a passing light truck and also sparked a small grass fire, which the CFS swiftly brought under control.
The aircraft’s pilot and sole occupant – a 36-year-old man from the South East – sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries and was flown to Adelaide.
TOOL THIEF SMASHES INTO TREE
Police chasing a man who stole tools from a vehicle called off the pursuit when he mounted a kerb and hit a tree.
Patrols were called to Roslyn Park just after 5am on Sunday after reports of a man acting suspiciously next to a Toyota ute parked on Primrose Tce.
The fled in a black Audi which was chased to The Parade, Auldana, where the car mounted a kerb and hit a tree.
The driver received a minor head injury and was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
A search of his car found tools which had been stolen from the Toyota at Roslyn Park.
He was changed with illegal interference, theft and dangerous driving to escape police pursuit and will bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court at a later date.
MOUNT BARKER RESIDENT THREATENED WITH PITCHFORK
A man armed with a pitchfork has forced himself into a Mount Barker home, demanding money before stealing keys to the resident’s car.
Police were called to the Liebelt Rd property after the intruder entered just after 12.30am on Saturday.
He threatened the occupant with a pitchfork before driving off in their black 2007 VE SV6 Holden Commodore, registration XTF227.
He is described as caucasian, aged 20-30, approximately 180cm with a muscular-stocky build.
The victim was unharmed.
Anyone who sees the Commodore is asked to call the Police Assistance Line on 131444.