Teen accused of being in stolen car after Vyleen White stabbing pleads guilty to robbery

A teenager accused of being in the stolen car following the stabbing of Vyleen White has pleaded guilty to a shopping centre robbery committed just three months after the Ipswich grandmother’s death.

Vyleen White died in February 2022. Source: Twitter

A teenager accused of being in the stolen car after the stabbing of Vyleen White has pleaded guilty to robbing a younger boy at another Ipswich shopping centre just three months after the Ipswich grandmother’s death.

The boy, who was not involved in Ms White’s stabbing, pleaded guilty at Ipswich District Court on Friday to one count of robbery in company while pretending to be armed with a knife.

He was originally charged with wielding an actual knife, but the prosecution substituted the charge at his sentence and dropped that allegation.

The court heard the boy, 16, had participated in a robbery in company with other youths at Riverlink Shopping Centre on May 28, 2024 – three months after Ms White’s death in February.

The 14-year-old victim was approached outside the North Ipswich shopping centre by the group, who demanded he give them his property, the court was told.

The court heard the boy said “I’ll chef you up” and lifted up his shirt, as if pretending to be armed with a knife.

The victim managed to get away after some other youths intervened, the court was told, and the boy was arrested shortly after.

The defendant's mother was in court to support him, but would not speak to media outside. Picture: Nicola McNamara

He was remanded in detention for 48 days before being granted bail – but he was detained once again in December over alleged breaches of bail.

The court was told at his bail application on January 2 that the boy was a “confirmed” gang member whose parents had told police he “effectively refused to listen”.

Acting Magistrate Rob Turra refused to grant the boy bail at that time, noting that out of 75 police checks conducted in 2024, the boy had allegedly only been compliant for 46.

Mr Turra noted the boy’s May 28 robbery offence had been committed while the boy was on bail for the unlawful use of a motor vehicle charge linked to the Redbank Plains stabbing incident.

The boy is expected to plead guilty to his outstanding charges, including that unlawful use charge, next week at Ipswich Magistrates Court.

His sentencing for those outstanding Magistrates Court matters was originally scheduled for earlier this week, but was pushed back so that they would resolve after his District Court matter.

His defence lawyer Kelsea Read flagged at that stage that she viewed a sentence of detention to be inappropriate, but police prosecutor Bronwyn Sharp said they may be seeking a detention sentence because the unlawful use charge was “particularly serious”.

At the boy’s sentence on Friday, the court heard both the prosecution and defence were agreed that the robbery charge could be referred to restorative justice.

Judge Dennis Lynch explained the restorative justice process would involve the boy meeting with the parents of the victim, who had agreed to participate, so that the boy could better understand and reflect upon the consequences of his actions.

Defence barrister Emma Thorsen told the court the boy was an Australian citizen, with hardworking parents who had come to Australia after fleeing their home country in Africa.

She said the boy had been negatively influenced by individuals in his friendship groups, but that he had since expressed understanding of the negative impacts of his offending.

Ms Thorsen acknowledged that the robbery would have been a “frightening” experience for the victim, but emphasised that her client had not used any weapon or violence.

Judge Lynch noted the boy had now spent a total combined period of 72 days in detention.

As the boy had no finalised criminal history, Judge Lynch said it was “obvious” he was never going to be sentenced to a period of detention for the robbery.

“No one wants to see you sitting in detention, but if you kept committing offences like this, that’s where you’d end up,” he warned the boy.

Judge Lynch referred the matter to restorative justice, with no convictions recorded.

But the boy will remain in detention as he awaits sentencing next week for his unlawful use and breach of bail charges.

His mother, who came to court to support him, made no comment to the media as she left the court with the boy’s legal representatives.