Good, bad and ugly gets worse in Gracemere

Michael Jackson's dog alerts him to copper thieves in Gracemere St

GOOD GIRL: Samara alerted Michael Jackson as thieves ransacked the recycling centre on his street. Picture: Jann Houley

WHEN Michael Jackson's dog started barking at nearly two o'clock yesterday morning, his parents next door thought the worst.

Samara, a two-year old wolfhound/bull arab/boxer cross has learned to alert Mr Jackson's parents to his seizures which result from a brain condition he has had since childhood.

(Samara is the daughter of his previous dog, Samantha; Mr Jackson said they saved his life many times over the years.)

But Mr Jackson - who receives the disability pension - was perfectly well, watching The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly on DVD following a late church meeting.

It was an alarm over the road, at a metal recycling centre in Gracemere, which set the dog to barking.

"At first, I thought the sound was coming from the TV and then Samara started barking,” Mr Jackson said.

"Just about the time the six-shooter shootout began, I looked out the window and saw a group of people were all over the property, trying to access the yard at back.”

Mr Jackson wants to know why it took police officers an hour to reach the crime scene.

Some minutes after he rang 000, Mr Jackson saw a white ute cruising the scene, and shortly after that the property owner arrived.

"Mrs D [the owner] chased them around the back for a good half hour,” he said.

"The ute did a U-turn around the back where the trucks unload and she out there alone with them; she told me to hold back in case my fingerprints got mixed up with the criminals'”.

When officers turned up at 2.50am, Mr Jackson said they told him they were delayed due to roadworks at the new Aldi site in South Rockhampton.

"Why didn't they just go up Upper Dawson Road?” he said.

As the son of a Queensland police officer, Mr Jackson said he doesn't understand why it took an hour for officers to arrive when an ambulance regularly reaches his home in a fraction of the time.

Police returned to the scene the next morning to conduct further investigations.

Mr Jackson said there's a crime spree around Gracemere which results from drugs, "especially ice”.

Queensland police did not respond to questions by deadline.

Originally published as Good, bad and ugly gets worse in Gracemere