Justin Lee Brunker pleads guilty to arson, Collinsville kidnapping in Mackay court
A Queensland man has pleaded guilty to unlawfully detaining a woman and setting a rural building on fire in the crime spree that followed.
Police & Courts
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A man has admitted to kidnapping a woman, as well as a series of offences escalating in seriousness from petty theft to arson.
Justin Lee Brunker pleaded guilty on a videolink from prison to depriving a woman of her personal liberty on an unknown date between September 1 and October 31, 2023, in Collinsville.
He also admitted to a crime spree with various offences across Collinsville and Townsville that occurred across the end of the year.
Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan read out the details of each charge, noting Mr Brunker’s guilty pleas to charges of arson and assault occasioning bodily harm had already been handed up to the District Court.
Mackay Magistrates Court heard he stole alcohol from the Cranbrook Star Liquor on December 20 and 22, before stealing from the Star Liquor in Gulliver on December 23.
Mr Brunker admitted to damaging motorbike tyres on December 20 in Vincent and also stole alcohol from the Townsville Stockland BWS.
He pleaded to a host of charges committed on January 6, 2024, including stealing meat from the Collinsville IGA and items from the Foodworks, damaging a glass window, stealing items from a home, and obstructing a police officer.
Mr Brunker’s solicitor Tracy Brown of Resolute Legal requested the 12 charges be joined up with the other two in Townsville.
Ms Hartigan adjourned Mr Brunker’s matters for mention on August 14, and he was remanded to remain in custody at Capricornia Correctional Centre.
‘We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone’
The search for a Whitsunday father of two who has been missing since mid August has reached a tragic ending.
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