Corey Glen Schumann charged amid meth bender, fraud, petrol theft

A man’s meth-fuelled petrol stealing spree came to a shocking end when he was spotted in a stolen car by its owner and stopped in a citizen’s arrest.

A man’s meth-fuelled petrol stealing spree came to a shocking end when he was spotted in a stolen car by its owner and stopped in a citizens arrest, a court heard.

A man’s meth-fuelled petrol stealing spree came to a shocking end when he was spotted in a stolen car by its owner and stopped in a citizen’s arrest, Mackay Magistrates Court heard.

Corey Glen Schumann has a history of car and fuel thefts, stealing his boss’s yellow Porsche in 2020 after he found the man had lied to him about not having been charged with child sexual offences.

Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan said the “most serious” of his offences was stealing the keys to that car from Banister’s Transport Company in Ooralea on September 23, 2023.

“Skipping forward two days, somebody recognised the car, the person who owned the car and pursued you,” Ms Hartigan said.

“That person and other members of the public stopped you from going anywhere and essentially performed a citizen's arrest.

“When they did that you went to grab a knife that was in the back of your car (but) fortunately that didn’t happen.”

The citizen’s arrest in Mackay followed a string of petrol drive-offs at United in Rockhampton, Coles Express in Coochin Creek, BP in Boyne Island and Coles Express in Deception Bay.

Schumann’s licence had been suspended by court order and was driving an unregistered as well as uninsured vehicle throughout his criminal road trip, the court heard.

He also faced charges for driving dangerously and smashing into a fence on Evan St on November 12, 2022, and driving with methamphetamine in his system near Mackay Harbour on March 22, 2023.

The 29-year-old pleaded guilty to 34 charges including dangerous operation of a vehicle, unlawful use of a car, possessing a knife in a public place, failing to dispose of a syringe, and four fraud charges for the fuel thefts.

Legal Aid lawyer Rose Varley said Schumann had “spiralled” when his remaining grandparents, who had raised him from a young age, passed away shortly before the first dangerous driving offence.

“The people that have really raised him have all died, which would have been quite catastrophic,” Ms Varley said.

“He essentially fell back into his old ways.”

Schumann was jailed with a head sentence of two years’ imprisonment and ordered to pay a total of $5769.05 restitution to the various service stations and property owners from which he stole.