Burnett detective Scott Prendergast discusses his own brush with car thieves

A senior Kingaroy detective and his family have become the latest victims of a wild spate of crime that has rocked the community, as 15 people are slapped with a string of serious offences including burglary and car thefts.

A police officer and his family were left shaken after a group of men showed up to their home and stole their car, leaving them victim to the very people he’d been working to catch.

Detective Sergeant Scott Prendergast said he was home with his wife last Thursday when they heard voices and noises coming from outside about 10pm.

“We went outside to investigate the noises, with the dogs barking, and spotted our car driving off from our address,” he said.

Sergeant Prendergast said it was the first time in his policing career he’d been the victim of a crime.

“The kids are still pretty upset about what happened. That people had actually entered into our personal space and taken our belongings,” he said.

“Living in a small community like the South Burnett, you don’t believe it should happen.

“That trust has been broken and you have to live in fear of it happening again.”

Celebrating a win after police arrested 15 people on property, weapons and drugs charges are Kingaroy Detective Sergeant Scott Prendergast and Darling Downs District Acting Superintendent Danny Shaw. Picture: Michael Nolan

Sgt Prendergast was involved in Operation Viper which slapped more than a dozen people with 75 charges in relation to a shocking crime wave across the South Burnett and Gympie regions.

He said it was an eye-opening experience to have the shoe on the other foot and to witness his family being victimised by local crime.

“What I learned from all this is the value in looking after our victims when they’ve been in an unfortunate incident such as this,” he said.

He said the incident also proved how important CCTV footage was, with the security camera he’d installed just two weeks earlier allowing police to identify the alleged offenders.

One of the men allegedly involved in the spate of thefts faced Kingaroy Magistrates Court on Friday.

The 20-year-old Cherbourg man appeared via telephone link from the Murgon Watchhouse, charged with 25 offences including the theft of motor vehicles, as well as other property and drug offences.

He applied for bail, with police opposing his application and noting he was granted bail on January 24 for robbery with violence charges.

Police prosecutor Barry Stevens told the court the case against the man was strong, and said a term of actual jail time was in range if convicted.

“It shows a flagrant disregard for the community or people property,” Sgt Stevens said.

Magistrate Andrew Sinclair denied the application for bail, describing the accused as having an “unacceptable risk of reoffending”.

The case was adjourned to April 12 for mention.