Carjacking teen sentenced to 12 months detention with conditional release

The mother of a teen involved in a violent carjacking where hooded thieves wielded a machete has told a judge that her son has put the “eshay” life behind him.

The mother of a teen involved in a violent carjacking where hooded thieves wielded a machete has told a judge that her son has put the “eshay” life – which saw him rack up 50 car stealing type charges and 80 property offences – behind him.

The 18-year-old, who was 17 at the time and therefore cannot be identified, was sentenced on Friday to one year’s detention with immediate conditional release after having served 232 days in custody on two counts of unlawful use of motor vehicle and one count of unlawful entry to a vehicle while armed and in company and threatening violence.

Queensland Childrens Court previously heard he travelled in a stolen Mazda with friends to Bulimba on June 4.

Once there they targeted Angelo Justus, who was reversing out of his driveway in an Audi.

Angelo Justus was confronted by a machete wielding carjacker in Bulimba last year.- Photo Steve Pohlner

The teenager remained in the car but covered his face as two others confronted Mr Justus with weapons and stole the Audi.

The group then drove away in the Audi before it was found shortly after at Stones Corner.

Judge Deborah Richards said the end result could have been “so much worse”, an observation made less than a week after 70-year-old grandmother Vyleen White was believed to have been fatally stabbed during an alleged carjacking at Redbank Plains.

“This offending where you blocked the car regardless of the fact you didn’t get out that’s really very serious,” she said.

“You would have known those boys had weapons – a machete – it could have gone so much worse than it did.”

Crown prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher said the number of unlawful use of motor vehicle offences committed by the teen was in the 50s and the number of property, enter premise and burglary offences was in the 80s.

“There needs to be a penalty imposed today to show young people that even when they think they’re just there and they’re not really involved, they indeed are (involved),” Ms Gallagher said.

“He is old enough now to know better.”

Security camera footage of a car jacking in Harrison Street Bulimba.

Ms Gallagher said detention was the only option but it could be appropriate to place him on a conditional release order involving intensive supervision.

Judge Richards questioned whether he’d comply with a release order and told his barrister Jessica Horne she would need to be convinced.

Ms Horne said her client left home at 14 due to domestic violence and became disengaged with school.

He had completed programs while in custody including a barbering course which he intended to pursue along with real estate on release.

Ms Horne said her client suffered a strong sense of rejection stemming from his father’s behaviour which drove him towards the peers he committed the offences with.

“He’s certainly expressed that he feels bad for the complainant and he knows it would have been scary,” she said.

She asked no conviction be recorded given his future plans and because he wasn’t a principal offender.

The teen’s mother told the court her son had changed an “awful lot” while in detention.

“He doesn’t have that young eshay talk like he used to,” she said.

“It’s like he’s grown and I do feel he will be a lot different this time coming out.”

Judge Richards said he would be looking at five years jail if he did this as an adult.

She said the 232 days he’d already spent in detention “was no more than you deserve given your history”.

She sentenced him to 12 months detention to be served by conditional release. If he breaches any of the conditions over the next four months he will be liable to serve up to 133 days in an adult prison.

No conviction was recorded.