Accused Marlborough crash driver Javarn Roy Doyle jailed for taxi robbery

A young man jailed for a “failed robbery” of a taxi driver has been charged over a crash that claimed the lives of his toddler and two others.

Javarn Doyle. Picture: Facebook

A young man jailed for a “failed robbery” of a taxi driver and charged over a crash that claimed the lives of his toddler son and two others “is in desperate need of structure and supervision”, a court has heard.

Javarn Roy Doyle, 21, pleaded guilty on December 7 to one count of attempted robbery in company.

Crown prosecutor Joshua Phillips said Doyle and two others - Billy Campbell and a female not yet charged - were involved in the “failed attempt to rob a taxi driver” in Gracemere in 2019, which they had planned.

The trio called for a taxi to the Gracemere Bowls Club about 11.30pm on March 31, 2019.

Mr Phillips said the eldest of the trio (the female) got in the taxi and then the two males opened doors and made a demand for cash “in a menacing fashion”.

“The taxi driver was quite quick-witted and took steps to foil the robbery,” he said.

“And she was successful.”

The female had been trapped in the taxi the driver drove to Gracemere Police Station.

Once there, the female offender got out and walked away.

Mr Phillips said Doyle, who had not been before a court before this 2019 offence, had since accrued a criminal record that provided evidence “he is in desperate need of a structured and supervised sentence and is not a suitable candidate for self-regulation”.

Doyle was sentenced in October 2020 for his role in a street brawl involving 10 people with them all citing it was an unfair fight between two groups that had started an altercation.

Judge Jeff Clarke said Doyle’s adult criminal record also included convictions for wilful damage, public nuisance, fail to appear, trespass and evasion.

“There is also a presentence custody document which records a raft of other allegations including the matter that I originally thought was going to be proceeding today,” he said.

That matter is the charges in relation to a triple fatality crash at Marlborough in November 2021.

The court heard a submission had been made by Doyle’s legal representatives to have those charges pushed through the court processes faster than normal, by way of an ex officio indictment, so Doyle could be sentenced for all of his outstanding alleged offences in the higher court at the same time.

However, Mr Phillips informed the court he rejected the submission, saying “I am not satisfied the charges accurately reflect the criminality”.

The fatal crash charges were expected to proceed from the magistrates court jurisdiction to the district court by way of a committal process by the end of 2022.

Defence barrister Sheridan Shaw said Doyle was supported in court by his brother, sister and partner.

Judge Clarke said the evidence before him was that Doyle had “a difficult early life” and “limited education”.

He sentenced Doyle to 18 months prison, declared 136 days presentence custody as time served and suspended the sentence after Doyle served 136 days with a two-year operational period.

Campbell was sentenced in Rockhampton District Court in June 2022.