Gun, hammer no match for young mum with can of bug spray in home invasion horror
A young Brisbane mum who drove armed men from her home with bug spray has bravely stared down one of the crooks as he was sentenced to jail.
Police & Courts
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A young mum who drove armed men from her home by spraying one attacker with bug spray has bravely stared down one of the crooks as he was sentenced to jail.
Kevin Luu, 28, armed himself with a gun and hammer when he and two others allegedly stormed a Mt Gravatt property in a terrifying home invasion on Brisbane’s southside in November 2022.
But Luu got more than he bargained for when a brave mother wishing to protect her toddler and newborn baby sprayed one of Luu’s alleged co-offenders in the face with a can of bug spray.
It is alleged that a co-offender was armed with a taser that deployed when he was sprayed, causing the aerosol to ignite and prompting the alleged offenders to flee the scene.
Luu pleaded guilty on Wednesday to entering a dwelling with intent by break at night in company.
The court heard the home invasion was prompted by bizarre circumstances when some of the accused were involved in a car crash outside the victim’s home days earlier.
One of the men allegedly hid a gun in the bushes before police arrived, the Court was told.
The Court also heard the accused wrongly believed the homeowners had found and taken their gun and when they confronted a man at the address, he told them no one had seen a weapon.
Judge Jennifer Rosengren said undeterred by that information, the accused trio returned to the home armed and wearing masks, breaking into the property where two men, a mother and her toddler and baby were living.
They allegedly terrorised the residents with weapons, demanding the gun they did not have and stealing two wallets as they left, the Court heard.
The gun they were allegedly looking for was later discovered by police where they had stashed it after the crash.
The young mother was in court on Wednesday to see Luu sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment, sobbing as Judge Rosengren commented on the sheer terror the victims must have felt during the home invasion.
Luu will be eligible for parole after having served nine months in September this year, taking into account 50 days already served. The alleged co-offenders are yet to face court.
Judge Rosengren accepted Luu was “unreservedly sorry” for his crime, saying his apology letters to the victim and court were heartbreaking, revealing he had been in the throes of a drug addiction.
She said Luu “had so much going for him” but got caught up with the wrong crowd and drugs “destroyed his life” and was now trying to rehabilitate.
“This is one of those really tragic cases and it’s gut wrenching to see all of his family supporting him,” Judge Rosengren said.
“I can see them wiping away their tears, what he has done is broken their hearts but he does have the opportunity to make amends, it is really in his hands.”
Judge Rosengren said Luu had breached the sanctity of the victims’’ home and made them feel less safe.
“And that is something no one should be made to feel,” she said.
Judge Rosengren said terrorising innocent members of the public “simply will not be tolerated”.
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