Prosecutors revive truckie robbery case against captured fugitive Mark Horne, co-accused

The arrest of wanted fugitive Mark Horne in Darwin last month was celebrated by authorities around Australia. But there’s four men who no doubt aren’t happy with his capture.

While authorities from here to Darwin may be celebrating the capture of NSW fugitive Mark Horne last month, there’s a certain group of people who no doubt aren’t so pleased about the alleged kidnapper’s return to Sydney: his co-accused.

Horne, on Supreme Court bail over his alleged involvement in the non-fatal shooting of a truck driver and the theft of $550,000 during a robbery at Lithgow in 2020, famously cut off his ankle monitor and fled the state in October last year, just weeks out from the group’s joint NSW District Court trial.

When the scheduled trial date came and went and Horne’s whereabouts were still unknown, the case against the remaining four fizzled out and the Director of Public Prosecutions ultimately withdrew its prosecution of them.

However, the recent apprehension of Horne appears to have sparked a renewed push to try the case, with a solicitor for the Director of Public Prosecutions telling Parramatta District Court on Friday that the prosecution was back on foot.

The solicitor indicated the DPP was scrambling to contact lawyers for each of Horne’s co-accused - Sam Elomari, Ricky Lefoe, Jordan Wakeham and Joshua Thompson - to advise them of the change of plans.

Fugitive Mark Horne has been extradited from Northern Territory to NSW- opening the door for his four co-accused to face court. Picture: NSW Police

Their cases will return to court in March for a planned group arraignment.

Each of the five is facing charges of robbery in company causing wounding and taking a person in company with intent to commit a serious indictable offence.

Horne, 32, fled NSW in a private plane after cutting off his ankle bracelet.

Elomari, Horne and Thompson are also each charged with a further offence of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime.

Police will allege truck driver Leith Carstairs was asleep in his prime mover at a rest stop on the Great Western Highway at Mount Lambie on September 28, 2020 when he woke to banging on the vehicle’s windows by a group of men wearing balaclavas and gloves and armed with a shotgun and a pistol.

The group allegedly smashed their way inside the cabin of the truck using hammers before threatening Mr Carstairs and demanding money.

It is alleged Mr Carstairs had stashed $550,000 cash in the vehicle when he left Perth three days earlier.

Northern Territory police found Horne hiding inside a boat.

Police will allege Mr Carstairs was taken away from view of the highway and shot twice in the foot and once in the thigh before he eventually gave up the location of the cash.

The group allegedly took the money and fled, leaving Mr Carstairs on the side of the road, suffering serious arterial bleeding.

He will now face court in NSW. Picture: NSW Police

He was flown to Westmead Hospital after contacting emergency services and underwent major surgery.

Horne, Elomari, Before, Wakeham and Thompson were all arrested a few months later and charged.

When released on bail by the Supreme Court in August 2021, Horne was ordered to abide by strict conditions including the wearing of an electronic monitoring bracelet, a nightly curfew and the deposit of a surety.

However, it is alleged Horne removed his ankle bracelet just two months later and fled to Queensland via a private plane flown out of Bankstown Airport, sparking a nationwide manhunt.

He remained on the run for almost three months before Northern Territory police discovered him hiding in the hull of a luxury yacht bound for Indonesia on January 25.