Alan Harris tells how he kept calm after intruder on alleged crime rampage broke into his house, alleged offender charged with 13 offences
The man alleged to have gone on a violent crime spree in the Mid North on Saturday has been charged with 13 offences. Alan Harris has spoken about how he kept the intruder distracted in his home until police arrived.
Police & Courts
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A man has been charged with 13 offences after an alleged crime spree in SA’s Mid North on the weekend.
The charges include six counts of endangering a life, two counts of assault causing harm, two counts of theft using force, serious criminal trespass and two counts of property damage.
The 22-year-old Port Wakefield man had a bedside court hearing on Monday, where he was remanded in custody until January.
Alan Harris, a 79-year-old Stockport local, was confronted by the intruder in his home in the early hours of Sunday morning but rather than get worked up, he casually chatted to the man and kept him distracted until police arrived.
Police were already hot on the suspect’s trail after he allegedly forced cars off a major highway and stolen a family’s vehicle prior to arriving in Stockport.
Mr Harris, who was home with his partner Trish Williams, 82, discovered the man in his house during a trip to the bathroom.
“I turned around and he was standing there behind me in the doorway,” he said.
“I just casually said ‘who are you? where are you from?’ and he seemed pretty incoherent.”
Mr Harris said the man, whom he estimated to be about 6 foot, six inches tall, was dressed only in a pair of shorts.
“No top, no shoes, no socks, no nothing – freezing cold,” he said.
“He had a cut on his foot (and) there were a few blood spots on the floor of the bathroom.
“He said ‘can you put a plaster on?’ (and) I said ‘yeah I can do that’ so I put a band aid on the sole of his foot where it was bleeding a bit.”
Mr Harris said the man also requested a blanket and asked to lay down.
“At that stage I went and (alerted) Trish as to what was happening,” he said.
“I said ‘look we’ve got an intruder in the house. I want you to keep very calm, very quiet (and) just come out and be normal... and perhaps distract him while I go outside and make the call (to police), which we managed to do.”
Police arrived within 10 minutes and arrested the man without incident.
“He wanted to lay down and sleep more than stand up and fight,” Mr Harris said.
“I’ve lived in other situations in various countries that have been worse than this,” Ms Williams added.
Police believe the man was also responsible for a crime spree earlier in the evening, starting with a disturbance in Freeling just before 8.30pm on Saturday.
About half an hour later, police said a family in silver Mitsubishi twin cab ute travelling on the Horrocks Highway, just north of Tarlee, reported that their vehicle were forced from the road by a silver Holden Rodeo, causing them to roll several times.
The occupants of the Mitsubishi – a 30-year-old man, 32-year-old woman and a 10-week-old baby girl, all from Clare – sustained minor injuries in the incident.
The male suspect fled after the smash.
About 10 minutes after, a family travelling in an orange Mitsubishi 4WD on Horrocks Highway, Tarlee, reported that their car had been stolen.
They said a silver Rodeo was on the incorrect side of the road smashed into their vehicle.
Police said the suspect then approached the 4WD and assaulted the male driver, forcing him from the car.
“The male suspect has driven off in the Mitsubishi 4WD after assaulting the male driver several times and biting a woman on the arm, who managed to removed their four-month-old baby from a car seat just before he drove off in their car,” a police spokesman said.
The 44-year-old driver, his 43-year-old female passenger and the baby, all from Willaston, were taken to the Lyell McEwin Hospital for treatment.
Jessie Rayson, 25, of Clare, was among the first on the scene.
“We were driving towards Clare and ...we saw a Holden Rodeo on the wrong side of the road, diagonally, with smoke coming from it so we pulled up and jumped out and asked what happened,” she said.
“We saw people on the side of the road visibly distressed and holding a baby.
“They told me that a man had stolen their car and almost took the baby with him.”
“They said they were driving and another car... hit the back of them and (they) got out to see if the man that hit them was okay, and that’s when he starting assaulting him and then he took the car.”
Ms Rayson said the couple had just come from a wedding.
“They had very obvious injuries, the lady was bitten and the man had been very badly assaulted,” she said.
Ms Rayson said she was shocked that such an incident occurred in the usually quiet region.
“I was blown away by the amount of people that stopped and asked for help – It was amazing to see the community come together,” she said.
Police found the stolen Mitsubishi 4WD abandoned in a paddock near the corner of Branson Rd and Giles Corner Rd, north of Stockport, about 10.45pm.
Just over three hours later, the man arrived at Mr Harris’ house.
