Mitchell Blake Reid faces Ballina Local Court after trying to carjack woman while armed with screwdriver
An “erratic” North Coast man tried to carjack a woman with a screwdriver outside a busy Woolworths supermarket. Here’s what happened.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Ballina man armed with a screwdriver asked a woman if he could steal her car in a bizarre carjacking attempt outside a Woolworths supermarket.
Mitchell Blake Reid faced Ballina Local Court pleading guilty to entering enclosed land without a lawful excuse, intimidation, behaving offensively and having custody of a screwdriver in a public place.
The 30-year-old man was banned from entering Woolworths after he allegedly shoplifted from the store, court documents state.
Reid breached the order by entering the supermarket about 8pm on June 19.
He left the Woolworths, took a screwdriver out of his bag and ran in front of a car on River St.
The woman behind the wheel was forced to brake suddenly to avoid hitting Reid, who was “waving the screwdriver around”.
She wound down a window slightly, concerned because Reid “was acting quite erratic”.
Reid pointed the screwdriver at the woman and asked: “Can I steal your car?”
The woman said Reid could not and he asked her where he could steal a car from.
She drove off and reported the incident to police.
Police found Reid near the Woolworths, disarmed him and took him to Ballina Police Station under arrest.
“I shouldn’t have been at Woolworths. Yeah, I stopped the car. I asked her to help me steal a car. I know it would have scared her,” he told officers.
On July 27, defence lawyer Ravi Prasad told the court Reid was sleeping rough at the time of offending and he received a disability pension.
Reid recently pleaded guilty to possessing 0.6g of methamphetamine (ice) and 5g of cannabis, the court was told.
Bail was continued, despite a police prosecutor arguing there was a risk Reid would not appear for sentencing and that he could be a danger to the community.
The case was adjourned to September 7.
Former teacher, child groomer has case stalled after lawyer’s bungle
A disgraced former Lismore primary school teacher who used a carriage service to groom a child for sex has had his sentencing delayed thanks to his lawyer’s “backward” and “inefficient” methods.
Sick would-be smuggler begs for cosy custody ahead of sentencing
A Mid-North Coast man who tried to help smuggle heroin into Australia from Malaysia has asked to go to jail early while he awaits sentencing, but fears the worst for his health with ongoing “rectal bleeding”.