Chrystal Lee Roberts guilty of obstructing police during relatives arrest
A Gold Coast woman’s protective instincts to comfort a family member during a stolen car bust has gone horribly wrong and landed her in court. Read what went down.
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A Gold Coast woman’s attempt to help a family member after they were busted by police in a stolen car has backfired, landing her in court on a criminal charge.
Chrystal Lee Roberts pleaded guilty in Coolangatta Magistrates Court on Monday to obstructing officers when they attended Stapylton Street, Coolangatta on October 2 last year to reports of a stolen vehicle.
“Police have pulled in behind the stolen vehicle to prevent an attempt to get away,” Queensland Police Service prosecutor Danielle Hunt told the court.
“The defendant (Roberts) has then approached police calling out ‘it’s not stolen, it’s not stolen, stop, I’ve got her’. In the driver’s seat of the vehicle was the (family member) of the defendant.
“Checks had already been conducted on the vehicle to show that, in fact, it was a stolen vehicle.”
Ms Hunt said officers attempted to handcuff Roberts’ relative through the window of the car while also attempting to turn off the ignition.
“The defendant then places herself at the driver’s window stating ‘stop, don’t handcuff her, she’s had a stroke. Don’t you f****** hurt (her)’,” she said.
“Police have then had to yell at the defendant to back up as she was obstructing police in attempting to arrest the driver.”
Roberts scoffed, mumbled and snarled in court as the facts of the case were read aloud – with Ms Hunt detailing how she continued to obstruct police multiple times over about 40 minutes, even letting herself into the stolen car to retrieve items.
“The defendant then proceeded around to the passenger’s side and yelled at the passenger “get the f**** out now’,” Ms Hunt said.
“The scene was heightened to the point that police have removed and threatened the defendant with capsicum spray while telling the defendant to back up.
“She was told to leave the scene no less than seven times. She severely obstructed police in a very heightened situation.”
After Ms Hunt had finished reading the statement of facts to the court, Roberts demanded that the police body-worn camera footage of the incident be played to the court.
In it, officers could be seen calmly responding to a highly volatile situation in which Roberts’ relative appeared to be severely distressed and not of sound mind. The family member repeatedly became agitated and hysterical, at one point kicking Roberts and yelling “I f****** hate your guts, I f****** hate your guts”.
As officers attempted to cuff the relative, they collapsed and began convulsing on the floor. Officers then removed the cuffs and comforted her until she calmed down. This repeated several times until paramedics arrived on scene. All the while, Roberts repeatedly approached police and her relative as they became distressed.
After viewing the footage Magistrate Erin Magee formed the view that Roberts wasn’t intentionally trying to hinder police from doing their job, but rather attempting to comfort her highly erratic family member.
“The facts recited (by police) make it sound far worse than the footage,”Magistrate Magee said.
“ ... There were some times where she (Roberts) seemed to be a calming influence. It’s fairly clear to me that the intention of the defendant was to try and de-escalate the situation.”
Roberts’ solicitor Bettina Webb, agreed with the findings of Magistrate Magee but said her client acknowledged that her actions did amount to obstruction, despite her good intentions, and had pleaded guilty as a sign of her remorse.
She was ultimately convicted and fined $1000 by the court.
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