Palm Beach theft victim Brian Maisey gets new car after Gold Cold community rally around
A Palm Beach man whose car was stolen by juvenile offenders while he was recovering from surgery says he is “overwhelmed” after a remarkable change of fortune.
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A PALM BEACH man whose car was stolen by juvenile offenders while he was recovering from surgery says he is “overwhelmed” by the support of the local community, who have helped buy him a new vehicle.
Brian Maisey’s car was crashed on the M1 in Gaven after it was stolen from outside his Palm Beach home in December.
On Friday, the 74-year-old took delivery of a Hyundai i30 purchased with funds raised following a GoFundMe appeal set up by his granddaughter Zoe Gant and publicised by the Bulletin.
“I just want to thank everyone,” Mr Maisey said. “I couldn’t believe it (the support), it’s unbelievable.
“It means I have my independence back.
“I couldn’t get anywhere before. I feel a bit more independent now.”
Daughter Sue Gant said it had been hard to find a suitable vehicle for her father and ended up travelling to the Fraser Coast to secure the new car from the local Hyundai dealership, who she said had been “wonderful”.
Ms Gant and her daughter Zoe delivered the car to Mr Maisey on Friday.
“It’s a beautiful community down here, really beautiful,” Ms Gant said.
“We thank everyone that’s helped.
“Just to see him smile makes it so worth it. The twinkle is back in his eye.”
YOUTH CRIMES STEAL MP'S WALLET, ORDER MACCA'S FEAST
A Gold Coast MP has fallen victim to the youth crime wave gripping the city after having his car broken into and wallet stolen.
Southport MP Rob Molhoek was asleep at home last week when a housemate alerted him that thieves had broken into his vehicle.
“About midnight my housemate knocked on the door and said ‘mate, our cars have been robbed’,” Mr Molhoek said.
“I went out and sure enough, the driver and passenger side doors of my car were opened, my wallet was gone, my keys and some other things I’d left in the car were gone.
“That was about midnight, so he called the police, I went back inside, grabbed my laptop and thought I’ll just jump online and cancel my cards.
“While I was speaking to ANZ (the operator) said ‘have you been to McDonald’s recently’. I said ‘no, I never go to McDonald’s, and she said ‘well, at 11.23 there was $85 worth of Macca’s purchased on your credit card’.”
They had also tried to buy cigarettes with his bank card at a servo but exceeded the $100 limit and didn’t know his PIN number.
Police told him the gang had been captured on CCTV cameras belonging to nearby businesses and they had arrested two people they believe were involved at Morningside the next day.
“I was told that the two kids, sadly, were known to Child Safety. One was 14 and one was 15,” Mr Molhoek said.
It is believed they travelled to the Gold Coast from South Brisbane.
“Personally, it’s been a massive inconvenience and a little bit confronting.
“I was really cranky about it. I was cranky with myself, I’ve left my wallet in the car which is not something I’m in the habit of doing.
“I’ve lost my blue card, I’ve lost my yellow card, I’ve lost my health care card, I lost one of my parliamentary passes, my driver’s licence.
“I spent the whole day running around, signing forms, making declarations, trying to put everything back to normal.
“But it’s just incredibly sad. It’s sad that those kids are doing this stuff.
“... There’s a whole backstory there that’s let those kids down terribly. Every one of these kids, there’s probably a really sad story in their background somewhere that’s led to them actually ending up this way.”
The theft came in the same week the Bulletin revealed that car thefts had jumped 10 per cent last year. Most of the crimes are committed by youths.
A 12 year old was also arrested on the Sunshine Coast last week for being part of a 150km joyride in car stolen from Pimpama. Five weeks earlier, he was in an induced coma after crashing a stolen vehicle on the M1 at Gaven.
Mr Molhoek said he wanted the return of the youth boot camps that were scrapped by the Palaszczuk government in October 2015.
He also said more foyers should be opened to help disadvantaged young people, such as the one that opened in Southport in October.
“There’s a lot of kids that just need a safe environment to live and support to get their lives back on track.
“Youth foyers are such a good model for that.
“I want to see youth foyers in every major population centre across Australia.
“It’s a model that helps kids get back on their feet, get an education, finish their trade and find themselves.”
QUIET STREET TRASHED BY HOONS
LOCALS living near a notorious hooning hot spot say their lives have been made a misery by having their quiet northern Gold Coast street turned into a racetrack.
Residents of Marks Road in Woongoolba said they had been raising concerns about the regular meets for more than five years, but the problem was worse than ever.
A number of people again gathered at the site on Wednesday, performing burnouts and drag races.
They left a considerable amount of debris in their wake, including tyre parts, fast food wrappers and empty beer cans.
A car was also left abandoned after being crashed in a ditch. Documentation left in the car indicated it had been bought from a student at St Michael’s College in Merrimac for $800 just days earlier.
The Bulletin spoke to a number of P-platers at the scene of Wednesday’s meet.
They said the hooning meets would continue to happen because there was nowhere for car enthusiasts to gather legally.
They suggested an officially sanctioned track would reduce the amount of illegal meets.
Coomera MP Michael Crandon said illegal hooning events were taking place regularly on the northern Gold Coast.
“On Wednesday on Marks Rd we’ve seen a massive hooning event go on, trashing the area, and leaving a car on the side of the road,” Mr Crandon said.
Police told the Bulletin they were alerted to the meet at 2.30pm on Wednesday.
A spokesperson said police crews attended the scene, where one vehicle evaded officers and another left the area at speed.
The car seen abandoned was intercepted and registration plates confiscated.
It comes after the Bulletin on Wednesday revealed hoons were using encrypted messaging apps like Snapchat to organise large meet-ups of up to 100 cars in Gold Coast industrial precincts.
Areas commonly being used for meets were Telford Pl and Ereton Dr in Arundel and the Molendinar industrial precinct.
Since then, another Arundel business has come forward to report an increase in “destructive” and “violent” hooning activity in the area over the past six weeks.
This included destroyed letter boxes and signage.
“They have been getting more violent in terms of actually damaging personal and business property,” one staff member said.
“The hoons tend to come and go. There’s no rhyme or reason, particular dates or way of knowing when they’re coming.
“But when they do come, you know they’ve been because the mess they leave is disgraceful.
“Sometimes I work late into the night and it does make you worried about who’s hanging around in the area.”
Mr Crandon said police were doing the best they could and were under a lot of stress at the moment.
“But we can’t do all of the work with boots on the ground,” he said.
“We need the legislation. We need breach of bail.
“The hoons that we are talking about are repeat offenders. They do it time and time again.”
On Thursday, footage emerged of a hooning incident on Strathaird Rd, Bundall about 3.30pm on Australia Day.
Clinton Ansell said the car in the footage nearly hit him as he was getting out of his car. Then they came back around and hit another car.
“I want to see police prosecute them,’ Mr Ansell told the Bulletin.
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