Man allegedly wielded machetes before high-speed police chase
A 29-year-old father is facing almost a dozen charges following a bizarre crime spree, which included allegedly threatening people with a gun and machetes, and ended with him allegedly crashing into a police car at high speed.
NSW
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A 29-year-old father is facing almost a dozen charges following a bizarre spree, which included allegedly threatening people with a gun and machetes, and ended with him allegedly crashing into a police car.
Joshua Ventura’s alleged crimes stretched from Rockdale in the early hours of Friday morning to the busy Princes Hwy in Gymea, where he’s accused of smashing into a police car at high speed after driving down the wrong side of the road.
The 29-year-old father from The Oaks appeared in Parramatta Bail Court today charged with almost a dozen offences following the dramatic police chase.
It will be alleged Ventura stole an orange Toyota Trax before stealing a set of number plates off another car on Friday morning.
He drove into the basement of a unit block, which was under construction, on Aboukir St in Rockdale when he was confronted.
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Police will allege CCTV footage of the six-minute encounter showed Ventura standing at the driver’s side door holding a machete next to his body.
He then jumped into the orange Holden and drove out of the driveway.
A few hours later, Ventura allegedly showed two machetes to a random woman in the carpark of the Taren Point McDonald’s about lunchtime.
At 6pm, police spotted his car at the Southgate Shopping Centre on the Princes Hwy at Sylvania.
According to police, the officers gave chase but stopped the pursuit when Ventura started driving at high speed.
Witnesses spotted him swerving through traffic, mounting the kerb and driving south in the northbound lanes.
Eventually, he smashed into a police car near The Boulevard exit at Gymea.
Video footage from witnesses appears to show an officer using a baton to try and smash through the car window before Ventura is pulled out of the car and onto the road.
He was arrested at gunpoint and taken to Sutherland Hospital for assessment.
Ventura was charged with a string of offences including police pursuit, reckless driving and drug possession, including five Xanax tablets.
He did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.