Nathan Yeo pleads guilty to 10-hr rooftop siege at Warwick business

A man who threatened to stab police officers just hours after a heart-stopping near-collision with two marked patrol cars has pleaded guilty to dozens of offences, including supplying drugs and threatening violence.

Warwick man (still) on roof.

A knife-wielding man who threatened to “gut” police during a 10-hour rooftop siege had just hours earlier driven dangerously at officers in two marked cars in a horrifying near-collision.

Nathan Thomas Yeo clambered atop the Warwick Tyrepower building in chaotic scenes in October 2020, causing parts of King St to be cordoned off and a range of emergency crews called in to assist.

The Warwick Magistrates Court was this week told Yeo repeatedly brandished a knife toward police, telling them he would “gut” them with the weapon.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess noted Yeo threatened his own life and those of police if officers were to enter the roof space.

After about 10 hours, and following assistance from fire crews, Yeo voluntarily left the roof via a ladder and was taken into custody.

Ms Sturgess said the siege followed a near-tragedy earlier the same day, where the L-plater was on a collision course with police cars.

“(Yeo’s) vehicle was observed to reverse at high speed and accelerate heavily as it took off (and) turned right into Horsman Rd, before performing a U-turn and driving directly toward two marked police vehicles, causing the respective police drivers to take evasive action,” Ms Sturgess said.

“The vehicle then continued at high speed … and was tracked as having false plates.”

Nathan Yeo has pleaded guilty to carrying out a rooftop siege at a Warwick business.

Yeo was found shortly after hiding in a shed, before carrying out the siege about lunch time.

He also failed to appear in court in October and November 2021 and wasn’t picked up until January 2022, where he attempted to flee from police.

Yeo on Wednesday pleaded guilty to 27 charges, including supplying dangerous drugs, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, threatening violence, performing a high-risk unregulated activity, breaching bail, obstructing police, failing to stop, making false entries in a corrective services record, drug driving, possessing property suspected of being stolen, failing to dispose of syringes, breaching a domestic violence order and unlicensed driving.

The now 32-year-old spent about 10 hours on a Warwick business roof, where he threatened to 'gut' police.

His sentencing comes just weeks after he was jailed for a series of vicious assaults on his girlfriend, where she was kicked and punched in the mouth so severely some of her teeth snapped and had to be removed.

While in jail he continued to contact the woman in an attempt to persuade her to change her story over the horrific assault he inflicted on her.

He was also found to have supplied dangerous drugs on multiple occasions, and his fingerprints were found in various stolen cars, including one that was taken from South Australia and sold on Gumtree. Ms Sturgess said there was no suggestion Yeo was the one who had stolen them.

At the time of committing a large portion of the raft of offences, Yeo was on New South Wales parole for a wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He was also recently sentenced in the Brisbane Supreme Court for supplying drugs while in jail.

Ms Sturgess said in addition to his serious criminal history, Yeo also had an “extremely poor history of traffic offending”, which included convictions for driving recklessly, furiously or dangerously, failing to stop and unlicensed and disqualified driving.

Yeo, who is currently serving a three-year jail term for the assaults on his girlfriend, was sentenced to nine months’ jail for the new offences and disqualified from driving for three-and-a-half years.
He is eligible to apply for parole in September 2023.