Ourimbah: Reid David Partlett charged with firing nail gun at other cars on the M1

A teenager was “wholly reckless” and could have killed someone when he allegedly took potshots with a nail gun at people travelling on the M1 north of Sydney, a court has heard.

Reid Partlett has been charged after allegedly firing a nail gun at cars on the M1 between Somersby and Ourimbah.

A teenager was on three intensive corrections orders (ICO’s) when he leaned out of the window of a work truck travelling up the M1 motorway and allegedly fired a nail gun at other motorists, a court has heard.

Dressed in a fluorescent orange work shirt Reid David Partlett, 19, faced Wyong Local Court on Tuesday charged with two counts of being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company, two counts of using an offensive weapon and one count of hindering police.

He was also charged with an outstanding warrant.

The court heard Partlett was allegedly a passenger in a white Mitsubishi truck heading north on the M1 between Somersby and Ourimbah when he allegedly fired a nail gun at a 57-year-old driving a sedan with the window down shortly after 4pm.

The man later told police he was hit in his right arm.

A short time later, a 52-year-old man in a grey Toyota RAV 4 reported to police he felt something impact the top of his head.

Partlett allegedly fired a nail gun at cars on the M1 between Ourimbah and Somersby.

The man said it caused him to briefly lose control of his vehicle.

­The court heard that driver saw a male passenger leaning out of a white Mitsubishi truck, firing, one of which shattered the passenger’s side window on his RAV 4.

Police located the Mitsubishi truck about 4.30pm at the Sparks Rd commuter carpark and began speaking with the people in the vehicle.

The court heard Mr Partlett allegedly started running away and climbing a wire fence before he was caught by officers and arrested after police deployed capsicum spray.

Mr Partlett’s Legal Aid solicitor told the court there were three people in the work truck, all wearing “similar attire” to his fluorescent orange work uniform.

She said Mr Partlett was not named but rather identified to police by one of the other occupants as “that one over there in the orange” and there was “no clear identification of Mr Partlett as the offender”.

Partlett was refused bail when he appeared before Wyong Local Court.

She said he was running away because of his previous “interactions” with police, which included an outstanding warrant for his arrest over alleged domestic violence matters from December.

She said he could abide by strict bail conditions and given the seriousness of the charges he could be remanded in custody for a long time before his matter was resolved.

She said he was diagnosed with ADHD and was on medication, which he might not be able to access while in custody.

However the police prosecutor opposed bail, telling the court Mr Partlett was serving three ICOs at the time and there were other witnesses, including the two victims who had been shot.

He told the court the nail gun had been seized along with a nail lodged in a victim’s car, which police would analyse for fingerprints and DNA.

He said given Mr Partlett’s attempt to flee from police he was also a flight risk.

The police prosecutor told the court Mr Partlett’s actions “could have resulted in significant injury or death”.

Magistrate Stephen Olischlager agreed, describing the allegation he fired a nail gun from a moving truck on a busy freeway as “simply wholly reckless to the harm that could be caused”.

Magistrate Olischlager refused Mr Partlett bail citing a “strong prosecution case” and the unacceptable risks he posed of committing further offences or failing to appear at court.

Mr Partlett was adjourned to reappear on January 24.