Joshua Laszuk: Man forced to wear dog collar, bashed bloody with baseball bat in horror home invasion

A 39-year-old labourer has been jailed for a violent burglary in Logan where a man was held hostage in his own home, bashed with a baseball bat and forced to wear a dog collar.

A 39-year-old labourer has been charged over a violent burglary in Logan where a man was held hostage for over 24 hours, bashed with a baseball bat and forced to wear a dog collar.

Joshua George Laszuk was among a group of four thieves who forced their way into the home of a 43-year-old man in Logan demanding drugs and money at about 3pm on March 28, 2018.

The father of three appeared by video link in district court at Beenleigh on Friday and pleaded guilty to 14 offences including robbery, deprivation of liberty and assault occasioning bodily harm while armed/in company.

The court heard all of the thieves punched the victim in the face and body and one of them struck him over the head with a baseball bat, causing it to bleed.

At one point Laszuk told the victim to pick up a pillowcase and start packing up all the property they wanted to steal.

The homeowner filled up about three pillowcases with his property but Laszuk got angry that the victim was not complying with their demands and punched and kicked him.

Judge Nathan Jarro said the thieves then demanded the man withdraw money from an ATM.

“One of you put a dog collar around his neck and you all hopped into his car and drove to the casino to withdraw $460 from his card at an ATM,” he said.

They then drove back to the victim’s home and detained him there overnight.

At one point during the night, one of Laszuk’s co-offenders pointed a gun at the man’s ankle and knee and said “I could blow your knee off” which caused the victim to pass out.

The next morning the thieves demanded the victim contact his bank and withdrew $20,000.

They all got in the car again and drove around the area using his credit card and bank card to purchase a number of items and at one point withdrew another $1000 from an ATM.

They then went to a bank at the Logan Hyperdome where one of Laszuk’s co-offenders went inside with the victim to withdraw $18,880 while he and the others waited outside.

The victim had to be taken to hospital after the incident and had sustained swelling and lacerations to his head, ear, eyes and nose.

The court heard two of Laszuk’s co-offenders had already been sentenced for the incident, including a 30-year-old man who was given a seven and a half year head sentence and a 19-year-old man who was sentenced to two years, while the fourth offender was still unknown to police.

Laszuk was also charged over a separate incident on November 11, 2019, where he got picked up in a car by his friend’s acquaintances at Pinewood Shopping Centre in Loganlea and forced them to get out and hand over their keys.

The court heard the father of three had already spent 997 days in pre-sentence which the judge deemed time already served.

He was sentenced to seven and a half years with an immediate parole eligibility date.