South Burnett crime sprees: Offenders sentenced for spates of crimes named and shamed
From month-long “rampages” that leave victims shaking and crying, to criminals claiming peer pressure lead them to commit waves of robberies, here are the people behind recent crime sprees in the South Burnett.
Police & Courts
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A career criminal whose wild “rampage” saw hundreds of dollars of fuel stolen and a vulnerable woman left traumatised, is just the latest in a list of offenders fronting court for crime sprees across the region.
Here are the circumstances surrounding some of the most shocking spates of offending to be heard in South Burnett courts recently.
Kingaroy man sentenced to nearly two years jail for latest criminal foray
A criminal with a lengthy criminal dating right back to when he was 18 years old has been warned he’s no longer welcome in Kingaroy after his latest crime spree, in which he racked up more than 30 charges.
Kingaroy Magistrates Court was told that Tyson John Hanks notched up a whopping 33 offences between May 14 and June 24, including stealing hundreds of dollars’ worth of fuel and a string of assaults or other violent crimes.
Police prosecutor Lisa Manns said the most serious offence occurred on June 23, when a 74-year-old woman heard someone shouting on the porch of her Kingaroy home.
The victim discovered Hanks smoking and spitting on the porch and told him to leave, with the 31-year-old then turning back to the elderly woman and pointing his fingers at her like a gun, saying “I’ll come back and get you”.
The incident left the woman so terrified that she was unable to sleep and was shaking and crying while speaking with police.
Sergeant Manns said Hanks’s “rampage throughout Kingaroy” also included an incident at the Men’s Hostel in Kingaroy, where he approached another man while brandishing a 30cm kitchen knife.
Hanks pleaded guilty to 33 charges including eight counts of driving without a licence, four counts of stealing, and one count each of serious assault a person over 60, and assault occasioning bodily harm.
He pleaded guilty to a further six counts of threatening violence.
Hanks was sentenced to 18 months’ jail in addition to the three-month activated suspended sentence.
Jail time for ‘cowardly’ attack on good Samaritan, nearly $3000 alcohol theft
A South Burnett woman has been jailed over a serious crime spree across Brisbane, where she stole nearly $3000 worth of alcohol and brutalised a man trying to stop a robbery.
Kyeisha Julieanne Maria Warner, 20, was arrested Wednesday morning on a string of crimes, starting with a violent attack on a “good Samaritan” at a Coles carpark on April 5.
The Kingaroy Magistrates Court was told a friend of Warner’s snatched a woman’s phone at a Brisbane carpark and tried to flee before he was tackled to the ground by a stranger. Warner then stepped in and assaulted the good Samaritan.
Police prosecutor Barry Stevens said the victim was punched and kicked to the ground, and suffered two fractures to his nose, four broken ribs, and other cuts and bruises.
Within the week she was breaking the law again, this time stealing nearly $3000 worth of alcohol from a Brisbane Dan Murphy’s over three days.
Warner pleaded guilty to three counts of stealing, and one each of assault occasioning bodily harm and possessing dangerous drugs.
She was sentenced to 12 months in jail, with her parole release date set for November 6, and ordered to pay $1500 restitution to Dan Murphy’s.
Man blames peer-pressure for destructive crime spree across southeast Qld
A South Burnett man involved in a wave of robberies across southeast Queensland blamed peer pressure for his spate of criminal exploits.
Arthur Robert Martin Carlo, 22, pleaded guilty to a string of 18 charges racked up between 2019 and 2022, including a wild Wednesday where he stole a car and broke into a string of properties across Tiaro, Kilkivan, Woolooga and Ban Ban Springs and Gayndah.
Kicking off at the Royal Hotel in Tiaro on July 28, Carlo and a group of friends smashed their way into the business through the glass door using a shovel and stole alcohol before heading off to Kilkivan in a stolen black Mazda.
The owners of the Kilkivan General Store woke to a loud bang when Carlo smashed his way into the business using the same shovel and stole cigarettes, ice cream and drinks, before taking off to a tobacconist in Gympie where he took a till filled with about $2000.
Carlo pleaded guilty to four counts of entering a premises and committing indictable offence by break, four counts of breaching bail, three counts of failing to appear, two counts of unlawful use, entering a premises and committing indictable offence, entering a premises with intent, entering a dwelling and committing indictable offence, evading a fare, and contravening a police protection notice.
He was sentenced to 15 months in jail with immediate parole, however will be remanded in custody until his District Court matter is finalised.
Carlo was also ordered to pay $478 in compensation for damage done to two businesses.
Kingaroy man sentenced for string of Kingaroy vandalism, including the Big Peanut
The man who targeted Kingaroy businesses and landmarks with tasteless graffiti didn’t make it hard for police to track him down, leaving a trail of simple clues to his identity.
James Michael Pernich, 29, scrawled graffiti across multiple sites in Kingaroy between January 3 and 10, including targeting a childcare centre, the Peanut Van and the newly-installed big peanut.
Pernich pleaded guilty to 15 charges, including 12 counts of wilful damage by graffiti, and possessing marijuana, drug utensils and graffiti supplies.
He was ordered to pay $4000 restitution to his victims and complete 40 hours of unpaid graffiti removal, and issued with a $250 fine.
Woman sentenced for stealing thousands of dollars of Lego, ‘callous’ Covid breach
A woman who went on a statewide crime spree during Covid lockdown and stole more than a thousand dollars worth of toys, was berated for her “callous disregard” of the thousands of Australians who died from the virus.
Tegan Joy Morrison, who now lives in Deception Bay, face court for multiple crimes including stealing and breaching Covid restrictions.
The 22-year-old breached lockdown by travelling from Brisbane to the South Burnett in August last year. She also stole more than $1000 of lego from a Big W store.
Morrison did not appear in court in person but was convicted of stealing, trespass, receiving tainted property, and failing to comply with Covid restrictions.
She was fined $1500 and ordered to pay $1145 in compensation to the Strathpine Big W.
Grandmother’s mega fine for wild chase across region on ice bender
A 45-year-old Glan Devon grandmother with a learner’s licence led police on a worrying goose-chase across the South Burnett, with a magistrate later saying her drug use was largely to blame.
Peta Marie Stimpson was behind the wheel of her Hyundai on November 25 last year, when police approached her at 6pm, having received a call in regards to Stimpson “driving suicidally”.
Officers spoke to the defendant and noted it was clear she was suffering a crisis before she drove off towards Murgon along the Burnett Hwy.
Later, Murgon police attempted to intercept the grandmother, with Stimpson repeatedly stopping before taking off again.
She eventually slowed and motioned for police to pull alongside where she leaned out the window and yelled at them to “f--k off”.
Eventually the car ran out of petrol and police approached and negotiated with Stimpson to leave the vehicle.
While be transported, she smashed a police car’s window with her elbow, and while she was being transferred to another police vehicle she kicked at a door and jumped out of the car.
Stimpson pleaded guilty to wilful damage, obstructing police, evading police, driving unsupervised as a learner, and driving under influence of drugs.
She was placed on eight months’ probation, disqualified from driving for two years and was fined $6892.50.
No conviction recorded
Employee busted stealing from boss of 10 years
A Kingaroy man’s decade long career went up in smoke when a suspicious employer took steps to find missing product and busted his worker stealing tobacco.
Brandon Wojtasek was busted on CCTV footage pocketing the pricey product after his boss installed cameras to find out why items were missing.
An audit later revealed a whopping $1657 or 18 packets in total had vanished between January and February.
Wojtasek, 32, pleaded guilty to stealing and was fined $500 and ordered to pay $1675 restitution.
No conviction was recorded.
Fraud ordered to pay back thousands for Facebook Marketplace fraud
A Kingaroy fraudster has finally been forced to face the music after months of agreeing to sell the same PlayStation 5 console to nearly two dozen people, raking in thousands of dollars of cash to cover his rent and bills.
Xealand Lance Eustace’s fraudulent escapades began on January 10 when he listed his PS5 for sale on Facebook Marketplace under the fake profile Elijah King.
The first victim transferred $100 to the 19-year-old for the console before finding herself blocked by the seller and out of pocket.
Eustice continued the same pattern 21 times and collected anywhere from $100 to $650 in each transaction, police prosecutor Lisa Manns told the Kingaroy Magistrates Court.
Eustace reeled in a total $5725 before police tracked him down in March, with officers finding the elusive console in his Kingaroy home.
Eustace was placed on 12 months’ probation and ordered to pay $5725 in compensation.
No conviction was recorded.
Woman taken to hospital after two-vehicle Bundaberg crash
A young woman has been rushed to hospital following a two-vehicle crash in a Bundaberg suburb last night.
Horror as 12yo girl’s ride harness releases mid-air
The operator of a “mega drop” ride a 12-year-old girl fell from when her harness released mid-ride at the Kilcoy Show has been fined $50000.