Swords, steel poles and violent attacks: 23 SEQ home invaders exposed
Knives, machetes and swords have been used during horrific home invasions across southeast Queensland, with the identities of the burglars behind terrifying attacks now exposed as they face justice. SEE THE LIST
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Knives, machetes and swords have been used during horrific home invasions across southeast Queensland, with the identities of the burglars behind terrifying attacks now exposed as they face justice.
Shocked home owners discovered burglars in their bedrooms while others were forced to barricade themselves in bathrooms during home invasions.
One offender used a pole to smash through the glass front door, another used a hammer and a third - bizarrely - poured shampoo over the bedroom of someone he had ‘bad blood’ with.
There were 6445 unlawful entries across the Logan, Brisbane, Moreton Bay and Ipswich regions in 2022, according to Queensland Police crime statistics.
Here we take a look at 23 burglars found guilty of home invasions in 2022.
NOTE: All people mentioned had convictions recorded.
DYLAN CONDRIT
A 26-year-old Underwood man faced court after terrorising a Bowen Hills resident when he was caught inside their house with a knife and a suitcase full of stolen valuables.
Beenleigh Magistrates Court heard Dylan Condrit and two others broke into the letterbox of the apartment, accessed a house key located inside and used it to enter the home unlawfully.
The house occupant returned home and caught the trio red-handed, shouting ‘what are you doing in my house?”
The court heard the intruders hurled abuse at the victim before fleeing.
Condrit pleaded guilty to illegally entering a premises, possession of a knife and was released on immediate parole.
JAIDYN FOSTER
A teenager from New Zealand, who committed three burglaries, said he got involved with the wrong crowd before being told by a magistrate to go back to his home country.
Jaidyn Foster, 19, from Logan Reserve pleaded guilty in Beenleigh Magistrates Court to three counts of entering a dwelling and committing indictable offences and one count of possession of a knife.
He received an 18-month suspended prison sentence and was disqualified from having a driver’s license for 12 months.
DECLAN JOHN MCLENAGHAN
“Bad blood” between a Brisbane man and another person drove him to sneak into their home and pour shampoo over their bedroom, a court has heard.
Declan John McClenaghan, 22, fronted the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday, November 7, and pleaded guilty to several offences, including wilful damage, entering a dwelling and committing an indictable offence, and driving when not permitted.
The court heard he entered a boarding house he used to live in through a window and poured shampoo over the bedroom of a person he ostensibly had “bad blood” with.
He was fined $850 and his license was disqualified for two years.
JYE HOLT
A central Queensland rodeo clown has told a court he is ready to turn his life around and be a supportive partner and dad after spending four months in custody for dealing drugs.
Jye Holt, 41, faced the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday, October 25 and pleaded guilty to six offences including, most seriously, entering a dwelling with intent by break, as well as forgery, fraud, and unlawful use of a vehicle.
The court heard Holt and another person smashed and unlocked the glass rear door of an Alton Downs home on May 27, 2020.
The pair walked inside the home, broke through another locked door, and gained entry to a room containing a number of gun safes.
The police prosecutor said they moved some of the safes outside to the residence’s open carport, but fled the scene when the occupant returned home from work.
He was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months.
TIFFANY ELAINE LEVITT, DAVID WILLIAM MELAIN
Two Acacia Ridge residents have been sentenced for stealing more than $3000 in cash and the brutal assault of an Ipswich man, who was put in a coma and required steel plating to reinforce his skull.
The court heard that Tiffany Elaine Levitt, 35, waited in a car while David William Melain, 37, allegedly accompanied by another man, approached the East Ipswich residence of Thomas William Diamond on the morning on June 8, 2021.
The victim was struck in the forehead with a hammer, causing profuse bleeding before being struck in the head several more times.
Diamond told the two men he’d seen their faces and they wouldn’t get away with it, and Melain punched him in the forehead.
The judge said Levitt made admissions to police that she had organised the home invasion as she “was seeking retribution for an incident between herself and the complainant that caused her significant embarrassment and discomfort”.
Levitt was sentenced to five years imprisonment, to be suspended for five years after she had spent 20 months in custody.
Melain was sentenced to six years imprisonment with a parole release date of June 9, 2023.
NEHEMIAH ADAM COULAHAN
A young Collingwood Park man was sentenced for a violent armed robbery, where he and his co-offenders were surprised when their steel pole, machete and knife were greeted by a sword.
Nehemiah Adam Coulahan, 19, pleaded guilty in Ipswich District Court on September 20, 2022, to armed robbery in company and enter dwelling with intent by break whilst armed in company, damaging property.
The court heard Coulahan used a pole to smash the glass front door and the victim, who was inside playing video games, grabbed a sword which had been mounted on the wall.
One of Coulahan’s co-offenders allegedly reached through the glass to unlock the front door, and the three men allegedly entered, with one yelling “we know you’ve got money. Give me the money or we’re going to hurt you”.
The victim put down his sword and put $500-600 in a black bag for them, along with tobacco when asked.
The men allegedly took his phone from the dining table, and left through the front door.
Coulahan was sentenced to two years imprisonment with an immediate parole release date.
JACOB ROBERT SARTORI
A Regents Park man has walked free after being sentenced for a string of break-ins and drug offences, including entering a medical centre with a knife.
Jacob Robert Sartori, 44, pleaded guilty in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on October 5, 2022 to 13 charges, including possessing dangerous drugs and weapons and breaking and entering.
In one incident, he was reported breaking into a medical centre in Logan armed with a knife. He caused damage to a nearby shed and took a leaf blower.
Days later, police raided his home and found stolen items including a Macbook laptop, power tools, two electric scooters and two clip sealed bags containing 2.1g and 7g of methamphetamine.
He was convicted and given a sentence of two years with an immediate parole release date.
EDWARD SCHREIBER
A magistrate has taken aim at a father’s care for his children after he narrowly escaped jail despite a crime spree at a local gym.
Kallangur resident, Edward James Schreiber, pleaded guilty in Pine Rivers Magistrates Court on April 27, 2022 to more than 20 charges, including breaking and entering, fraud and possessing dangerous drugs.
The court heard the 50-year-old entered a Kallangur gym on June 11, 2020 before breaking into a locker, rummaging through a duffel bag and stealing a wallet, a set of car keys and driving off with the vehicle.
Magistrate Murphy confirmed in court that Mr Schreiber had a lengthy criminal history stretching more than 30 years.
“The last two years of offending non-stop, continuing to break the law, taking peoples cars, stealing, fraud,” Magistrate Murphy said.
Schreiber was convicted, sentenced to 16 months parole and was fined $1000 for possessing dangerous drugs and instruments.
JESSICA DOREEN LOCK
A Logan mum has spent close to 10 months in jail after carrying out a violent home invasion against a sex worker for money.
Jessica Doreen Lock, 34, of Loganlea appeared in Beenleigh District Court and pleaded guilty on August 1 to one count each of burglary, robbery in company with violence, and assault occasioning bodily harm in company.
The court heard the alleged “prime mover” in the offences was a man named Samnang Nov, who was a client of a 23-year-old escort working out of Logan Central.
He allegedly gave the sex worker a necklace, ring and flowers after she ended their professional relationship, but then over the next two days, sent her threatening messages.
The court heard the woman opened her front door after hearing a knock to find two women - Lock and Crystal-Gay Dawn Maizey – standing there.
The pair opened the screen door and “barged” their way into the house.
It is alleged Maizey pushed the woman up against the door, ripped her necklaces off, grabbed her arms, and took her two mobile phones while Lock rummaged through her room, drawers, and bag.
The court heard Maizey yelled she would cut the woman’s fingers off if she did not give them her ring. The pair slammed the back door shut on her finger then locked the door.
Lock was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment to be suspended after serving 12 months.
MAX PETER NATION
A love for stealing and the “adrenaline rush” which comes with it has once again landed a man in jail, a court has heard.
Max Peter Nation, 29, appeared in Ipswich Magistrates Court on Friday, April 22 via video link from custody, where he pleaded guilty to three charges including entering a premises and committing an indictable offence and possessing used utensils or pipes.
On two occasions, Nation entered a store at Riverlink Shopping Centre – the first being craft shop Kaisercraft, the second being hairdresser Just Cuts – and approached the cash register.
He was successful in stealing about $300 from the register at the hairdresser.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Nick Turnbull told the court Nation had a relevant criminal history and could be considered a “recidivist property offender” with a “substantial” risk of reoffending.
Nation was sentenced to an 18-month period of probation for the first enter premises offence committed and 12 months’ imprisonment for the second, wholly suspended for 14 months.
DANIEL GALLI
The family of a man convicted of breaking into a woman’s house through the floor and strangling her to a point where she “couldn’t see or breathe” rejoiced in a courtroom as a judge announced he would be released on parole immediately.
Daniel Galli, 34, appeared in Ipswich District Court on Wednesday April 4, where he pleaded guilty to several charges including three counts of burglary, one of unlawful stalking, and one of strangulation.
He was sentenced to a total of three years’ imprisonment with an immediate parole release date.
BOBAN DJORDJEVIC
The Ipswich man who walked into a stranger’s home during a daylong crime spree, assaulted an occupant and set their car on fire after declaring “I own this house’’.
Boban Djordjevic, 32, appeared in Ipswich District Court on April 1, where he pleaded guilty to arson, entering a dwelling and committing an indictable offence, committing public nuisance and attempting to enter a premises with intent.
The court heard all four offences were committed within a 24-hour period.
Prosecutor Rachel Stewart said a woman was getting ready for work in her bedroom when she heard noises in the hallway and found Djordjevic - who had just been freed on bail after a burglary at Redbank Plains earlier that day - standing there.
“She ... asked why he was inside the house and he said words to the effect of ‘I own the bank, I own this house’,” she said.
Djordjevic approached the woman, who told him to leave and then pushed him away before Djordjevic threw a large jar at her husband’s head and fled.
The couple’s adult children were woken by the commotion and chased Djordjevic, pinning him down in the front yard until police arrived.
Police released Djordjeivc on watch house bail later in the day but about 11.30pm he tried to break into a car at another address, the court heard.
He was then captured on CCTV entering a second car parked on a street and setting it on fire, destroying it.
Djordjevic was sentenced to three years in prison.
BENJAMIN PONTON-JOHNSON, MATTHEW GURNEY, JOSHUA DODDS
Three men who invaded a home late at night and “violently assaulted” two of its residents wanted only to confront an alleged perpetrator, a court has heard.
Joshua Dodds, 29, from Auchenflower, Matthew Gurney, 31, from Lower Mount Walker, and Benjamin Ponton-Johnson, 22, also from Lower Mount Walker appeared in Ipswich District Court on Monday February 14, each charged with entering a dwelling with intent by break and using violence while in company.
The court heard the three offenders invaded a home next door to a family farm at Lower Mount Walker where Gurney and Ponton-Johnson were living about 10.30pm on July 3, 2020.
Crown prosecutor Hamish McIntyre said the group entered the home of Robert McRae, who knew Gurney and Ponton-Johnson well, and “violently” assaulted him and his son “entirely unprovoked”.
“(Robert McRae) was punched repeatedly 12 times to the head, ribs, arms, and body,” Mr McIntyre said.
“He was knocked to the floor.
“When Dylan McRae (Robert McRae’s son) came to see what was happening, Dodds struck him to the side of the head, near the temple,” Mr McIntyre said.
The three men were sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment wholly suspended for an operational period of three years.
NEHEMIAH SAYLOR
A young Ipswich man, who has spent a majority of his adult life in custody laughed, yawned, shook his head, and interrupted court proceedings during his sentencing hearing earlier this year.
Nehemiah Saylor, 20, from Goodna appeared in Ipswich Magistrates Court on two occasions in February this year via video link, where he pleaded guilty to more than 20 charges including burglary-type offences, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, and graffiti.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Nick Turnbull said Saylor’s offending - which ranged over 17 months - could be described as “brazen” at times and “objectively dangerous”, with police at one stage having to jump out of the way of a car Saylor was driving in their direction.
Saylor was sentenced to a total of two years’ imprisonment and disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for five years.
RANDAL BRAVO
An Ipswich father has faced sentence for breaking into a home to steal from an acquaintance and assaulting a fellow prisoner while in custody, more than a year and a half after the fact.
Randal Bravo, 28, from Silkstone appeared in Ipswich District Court on Monday, February 7 facing five charges, including entering a dwelling with intent at night using violence while armed in company, stealing, assault occasioning bodily harm, and supplying dangerous drugs.
The court heard the young dad was at Racehorse Hotel at Booval on July 13, 2020 when he saw a man he knew from interactions involving drugs spending a considerable amount of money – about $2000.
The following night, the man from the hotel and the woman he lived with were woken to a knock on their door and Bravo yelling that he wanted to be let inside before a sledgehammer was used to break a hole in the door.
The home’s two occupants ran to the bathroom and barricaded themselves inside as Bravo and his unidentified co-offender repeatedly struck the door and entered the bathroom, demanding the man give them his money.
Crown prosector Andreas Galloway told the court Bravo ransacked the house in search of money but did not locate any, eventually leaving with a handbag containing keys, $100 in cash, and an iPad.
Bravo was sentenced to four and a half years’ imprisonment with immediate parole.
JANELLE ESTHER ROBINSON
A two-year crime spree ended in court for 53-year-old Janelle Esther Robinson.
Mother-of-eight and grandmother-to-four, Robinson pleaded guilty to 31 charges on Tuesday, April 12 in the Ipswich Magistrates Court.
The offences, some committed “just about every month” between December 2019 and November 2021, included four counts of stealing, three counts of trespassing, three counts of public nuisance, two counts of possessing a knife in public and multiple drug-related charges.
Robinson received a sentence of six months imprisonment and was released on parole.
ALINTA MAY SUEY
A mum-of-three children said she was determined to spend more time with her children after narrowly dodging a jail term when she pleaded guilty to one count of entering premises and committing an indictable offence
Former Riverview resident Alinta May Suey, 37, pleaded guilty to 14 charges in Ipswich Magistrate’s Court on Friday, April 8.
She was released on parole with a sentence of 12 months imprisonment and was required to pay restitution of $717.23 to Woolworths Marsden.
JAMES DODDS
James Dodds, 47, faced Ipswich Magistrates Court for a series of break-in thefts from “vulnerable” elderly victims.
Dodds pleaded guilty at court in June to two counts of entering a dwelling and committing an indictable offence, 15 counts of fraud, attempted fraud, and one count of stealing
The court heard that on June 3 2021, Dodds broke into a 95-year-old man’s house.
The man was sitting in his living room at the time and watched as Dodds stole his wallet from the living room table before escaping on his bike.
Dodds received a two-year prison sentence with a parole release date of July 22.
SAMUEL GLENN ATKINSON, HAYDEN JOHN MELL
Two Ipswich men involved in an armed robbery involving a car they said they believed belonged to their associate were sentenced in Ipswich District Court this year.
Samuel Glenn Atkinson, 34, and Hayden John Mell, 20, both pleaded guilty on July 28, 2022 to one count of armed robbery in company.
On May 21, 2021, Atkinson and Mell both participated in the armed car theft of a man at Riverview.
The court heard Mell used a replica firearm throughout the encounter, and used it to threaten the man.
Mell and Atkinson also smashed the man’s phone and stole his bank card and $10 in cash.
The court heard an acquaintance of theirs had an arrangement with the victim, where she borrowed his car from time to time.
Atkinson was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment, with immediate parole release.
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