Joshua Thompson refused bail over alleged Lithgow truckie robbery
What happened to a truckie who was shot three times and allegedly robbed of $600,000 has been revealed in court.
Illawarra Star
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Police allege one of the men accused of dragging a sleeping truckie from his vehicle before shooting him three times in a terrifying robbery boasted to his mates about spending $100,000 in two weeks.
Joshua Thompson will spend his 30th birthday in custody, after he was refused bail by a Wollongong magistrate over his alleged involvement in a terrifying incident where a truckie was shot and robbed of $600,000 on the side of a highway.
Thompson and four other men were arrested in sweeping raids last week, with police alleging they orchestrated a sophisticated robbery at Mount Lambie on September 29.
Thompson, who moved to Primbee that same month, was charged with kidnap in company occasioning actual bodily harm, discharge a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, robbery in company cause wounding/ grievous bodily harm and participate in a criminal group.
He faced Wollongong Local Court via audiovisual link from Parklea Jail on Thursday, where Magistrate Michael Stoddart refused his application for bail, despite Thompson’s lawyer offering up more than $1 million in bail security and explaining Thompson had just finished a round of chemotherapy for an auto-immune disease.
In documents tendered to the court, it was revealed on September 25, the alleged victim vacuum sealed 10 to 12 bags of cash totalling $600,000 and hid them in his truck, before departing Perth and heading to Sydney.
On September 28, the man parked his truck at a rest stop on the Great Western Highway at Mount Lambie, and fell asleep in the rear cabin.
A few hours later, the man woke to banging on the truck’s windows, before men allegedly smashed their way inside using hammers.
The court heard the men, wearing balaclavas and gloves and armed with a shotgun and a pistol, forced the man from the truck, before threatening him and demanding money.
In the documents, police allege the men, one of which was Thompson, said “where’s the money? I know you’ve got some money”. The man denied having any money, allegedly prompting the group to drag him a way from the view of the highway, before shooting him twice in the foot, saying “I’m gonna f**kin shoot you. Where is the money?”.
The victim was shot a third time in the thigh, before he was allegedly dragged back into the truck and driven to a quiet, unlit road nearby.
Police allege the man, fearing he would be killed told the men where the money was hidden.
Once they found the money, police allege they again threatened the man, saying he “better not call the cops”.
The group left the man on the man on the side of the road, suffering serious arterial bleeding. He was flown to Westmead Hospital after contacting emergency services and underwent major surgery.
Police launched an investigation, allegedly discovering Thompson and some of the other men’s mobile phones had “pinged” at cell towers in Mount Lambie at the time of the alleged incident.
On Thursday, the court also heard on September 28, Thompson was allegedly depicted driving a white Volkswagen Amarok utility through the drive-through at Maccas Lithgow with one of his co-accused in the front passenger seat.
The court also heard police tapped Thompson’s phone after the alleged incident, recording a conversation where he told a mate he “spent a hundred grand in three weeks, four weeks”.
In the days before his arrest, police also allege they recorded conversations where Thompson told someone the cops were after him.
“Coppers looking for me … we spent two hundred grand in f**king eight weeks …. I don’t know how long until the coppers catch me … I don’t know how much they actually have on me … I used my car”, according to court documents.
Another call was also recorded where he allegedly said: “I got in a bit of trouble … we’re talking multimillion dollars … this one’s bad. It’s all interstate”.
In refusing bail, Magistrate Stoddart said it seemed to be a “very strong” case. The matter will return to court next year.
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