Tyrell Elwood James Watson jailed for breaking into Townsville vehicle dealerships

A serial car thief has faced court for a spate of burglaries of Townsville vehicle dealerships after he was identified hanging out of the window of a stolen car from a social media video.

CCTV footage of a person accused of smashing the front door of the Yolanda General Store in a burglary. Picture: Supplied.

A serial car thief who has spent most of his adult life behind bars, will pay a heavy price for his involvement in a spate of burglaries which targeted Townsville car dealerships.

A court has heard that Townsville man Tyrell Elwood James Watson, 21, and accomplices, smashed their way into Rising Sun Honda, Pickering’s Auto Group, Harley Davidson Townsville, Carmichael Ford, during August 2021.

Each break-in occasion involved the theft of vehicles, including two cars from Pickerings on August 23, where they crashed into each other nearby and were subsequently written off.

On August 22, at about 5.15am, Watson smashed a glass front door of the Yolanda General Store before he and co-offenders stole cash and other items.

Additionally, he was involved in a heated argument with another taxi passenger before he got out of the vehicle and attempted to punch the driver on July 31.

Watson appeared via videolink in Townsville Magistrates Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to 13 charges including six counts of unlawful use of motor vehicles, four counts of entering premises and committing an indictable offence by break, and single counts of common assault and entering premises with intent.

Police prosecutor Lisa Plessius said investigators identified Watson through a video shared to social media where he was hanging out of the window of a stolen vehicle.

She said his sentencing would be complicated by a recent three-year term of imprisonment that he received in the Townsville District Court for armed robbery in company.

Taking into account his three page criminal history featuring jail sentences of unlawful use of vehicle and burglary offences, she asked Magistrate Richard Lehmann to imprison him for an additional six months.

Defence lawyer Mikaila Ward asked for 18 months imprisonment, to be served concurrently with the existing sentence.

She said Watson had a disadvantaged upbringing, had no contact with his family, and had been injecting methamphetamine “as a coping mechanism” since the age of 18.

Magistrate Lehmann said this latest round of offending was so serious that it required additional time to be served behind bars on top of the district court sentence.

Allowing for 482 days served in pre-sentence custody, and his previous sentence, Watson will serve an additional four months in jail. His parole release date is set for April 19, 2023.

Originally published as Tyrell Elwood James Watson jailed for breaking into Townsville vehicle dealerships