Aaron John Robbie sentenced for carjacking crime spree

Details of how a Sunshine Coast meth addict wrestled with a Menulog driver and held another at knifepoint during a terrifying crime spree have emerged.

A meth addict wrestled with a Menulog driver, stole his girlfriend’s mother’s car and held a man at knifepoint during a terrifying crime spree that saw him leap from one stolen car to another.

Aaron John Robbie was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in Maroochydore District Court on Friday after he pleaded guilty to eight charges including entering a dwelling with intent using or threatening violence and three counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

The court heard Robbie, who was under the influence of a “cocktail of drugs”, leapt from one stolen car to another during his crime wave that started on May 11 and ended a day later.

Crown prosecutor Alex Stark said Robbie had driven a stolen HiLux ute, with a GPS tracker, into the garage of a Gardak St, Maroochydore address when he held a man at knifepoint and demanded the keys to his car.

The court heard the man was able to flag down police who caught Robbie as he was trying to jump a fence at 3:30pm on May 12.

Mr Stark said Robbie also attempted to force a 25-year-old Menulog driver, waiting for her next order at the Alexandra Headland Surf Club, out of her car at around 8pm on May 11.

“(Robbie) … exhorted her to ‘drive, f---ing drive’,” he said.

Aaron John Robbie was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in Maroochydore District Court on Friday. Picture: Social media.

Mr Stark said the woman, who was pushed out of the driver's seat, fought back against Robbie.

“She tried to pull him out of the car and he had his hands on her arms trying to wrestle her off while searching for the keys,” he said.

Robbie failed to find the car keys in the woman’s pocket and tried to snatch her phone before fleeing the scene.

Mr Stark said the now 35-year-old had stolen his then-girlfriend's mother’s car before entering a Mooloolaba house at 2:30am on May 12.

The court heard a man, sleeping in the house at the time, was woken by Robbie searching for car keys.

Mr Stark said Robbie snatched the keys from a bedside table and drove off in the car as the man ran after him.

After tracking Robbie via the GPS tracker in the stolen HiLux Ute police briefly pursued Robbie who accelerated away from officers, drove through a stop sign and aggressively swerved behind other cars.

“He was continued to be observed by other officers driving on the wrong side of the road and at one stage directly towards a police vehicle causing the officer to swerve and avoid a head on collision,” Mr Stark said.

Mr Stark said Robbie had an extensive Queensland and New South Wales criminal history and had spent most of his adult life behind bars.

He suggested a four-year head sentence to be added to the end of a seven-year sentence that he was still serving from 2011.

Barrister Simon Lewis said a traumatic childhood had pushed Robbie to become addicted to drugs such as meth.

Mr Lewis said the future was bleak for Robbie if he did not engage in treatment for his past traumas.

“He is someone that has had grave difficulties in dealing with addiction, a very strong part of his life,” he said.

He asked for three years to be added to Robbie’s sentence and asked for a parole eligibility date to be set for the middle of 2022.

Mr Lewis said had shown remorse for his “terrifying” offending especially against the Menulog driver, who he had written an apology letter to.

“That sort of offence against a female is not his usual level of offending and I think that has given him quite a shock that he did something like that,” he said.

Judge Glen Cash noted Robbie had been paroled to attend a rehab facility a month and four days before committing the offences before the court.

“Thinking these things when he is sober doesn’t seem to stop him from doing, not this particular thing, but something of that nature when he is high,” he said.

Mr Cash highlighted a number of Robbie’s previous convictions and said he believed there was little hope unless he could stay clean from drugs.

He ordered a parole eligibility date for July 1, 2022.