Lachlan James Bastow-Russell of Crestmead sentenced for brazen car theft spree

A prolific 23-year-old Brisbane car thief with a criminal history five pages long used tactics so brazen they are almost certain to leave you shocked.

A prolific 23-year-old car thief variously stole vehicles by catching lifts and driving off while the owner attended a service station, simply took cars left idling to warm their engines and broke into a home for a vehicle’s keys, a court has heard.

Appearing at Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Monday (June 6) Lachlan James Bastow-Russell of Crestmead pleaded guilty to a bevy of charges.

They included eight counts of unlawfully using a vehicle, entering a dwelling to commit an indictable offence, stealing, fraud and more.

The court between April 23, 2020 and October 21, 2021 the Crestmead man went on a meth-fuelled vehicle theft spree that shared a “similar flavour”.

According to police, he stole vehicles on eight occasions whenever the opportunity arose.

In one instance he caught a lift from a driver and when the man attended a service station simply drove off with his car.

On another occasion he stole a vehicle left “warming up” by its owner; he stole yet another while its owner collected goods from a shop.

And most seriously, according to the prosecution, broke into a home specifically to steal a vehicle.

“A lot of his offending is quite brazen – I don’t know that it is intelligent – but it is quite brazen,” police prosecutor Tim Wise said.

The offending was made worse for occurring on a five-page criminal history.

Bastow-Russell had previously been sentenced to 18 months’ jail for burglary and six months for using a stolen vehicle, among other offending.

The court heard he was currently serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence with a full-time release date in April, 2023.

Defence solicitor Bettina Webb acknowledged the brazen nature of her client’s offending.

Ms Webb said Bastow-Russell had earned good money in a roofing job when a relationship breakdown sent him “downhill” into a long-established meth addiction.

With 246 days pre-sentence custody declared time served, the defendant was sentenced to two years’ prison and granted an immediate parole eligibility.

He was further ordered to pay $292.91 in restitution for five fuel drive-offs.

The court heard his current prison sentence ended in April next year, but he is now eligible to apply for parole.