Police investigate armed robberies at Paradise Point and Underwood
A 15-year-old faces questioning after a crime spree that left a man injured and saw thieves steal four luxury vehicles at knifepoint in just 90 minutes.
A 15-year-old boy has been taken into custody by police after a man was injured and residents threatened with a knife after a group of armed thieves broke into a Gold Coast home and stole a luxury car.
Officers were called to O’Grady Drive at Paradise Point about 2am on Tuesday after a reported break and enter.
Police said a group of armed offenders broke into the home and stole a 2023 grey Mercedes Benz GLE5.
When officers arrived, a 41-year-old male occupant was found with minor injuries to his left arm and face.
A detective at the scene confirmed the victim was in a stable condition.
“He’s obviously come out of hospital now,” the officer said.
Shortly after the break-in, police found the stolen vehicle abandoned on the M1 near the exit 26 off-ramp at Shailer Park.
Forty minutes later, a second break and enter occurred at a property at The Crescent at Underwood.
Police said thieves stole a 2017 white BMW X5 and 2016 white Mercedes Benz E350 at knifepoint.
No one was physically injured.
Officers then saw the two stolen vehicles driving dangerously and travelling in convoy with a blue Ford Falcon on Reserve Road at Upper Coomera.
Police said the Ford was stolen during a burglary at Cresswell Crescent at Upper Coomera around 3am.
A police vehicle and one of the stolen vehicles then collided, with the two occupants fleeing the scene.
The vehicle was searched and a firearm and knife were found inside.
The gun is understood to not be a real firearm.
The Ford was later found abandoned at Reserve Road at Upper Coomera about 3.30am.
Detective Inspector Mark Mooney said a 15-year-old Labrador resident who was known to police had been taken into custody just after noon on Tuesday.
The boy was helping police with their inquiries and has not been charged.
Det Insp Mooney said police were treating the events as a youth crime investigation and were now searching for other members of the group who are believed to have committed the robberies.
“Now we have the 15-year-old in custody, and our investigation, we believe, will progress quite quickly from here,” he said.
“We believe there were between three and five people sighted at the Paradise Point address, and definitely four, at the Underwood address.
“Obviously (the victims) are traumatised, it is a traumatic incident to occur.”
A resident of Paterson Place, a few houses down from the O’Grady Dr crime scene, expressed surprise at such an incident occurring in the neighbourhood.
“We’re off a dead end road, that’s normally a great security feature, because I believe crooks, they go in somewhere and want to go out a different direction.
“If they come in here, as those guys had to, they had to go out the same way.”
Reflecting on the unexpected crime, the Paterson Place resident said he’ll set his burglar alarm more frequently.
“But there’s no point in panicking all of a sudden – we’ve got a security alarm, so if anybody tries to break in, the hooter goes off, and the people know and they send a car around.”
The resident added he was from “the bush”, where he never had to think about such safeguarding measures.
“We had no keys to the house. We drove into town. We left the keys in the car. Didn’t lock the front doors. You can’t do that now,” he said.
“What can the powers do? Put guards on every street corner?”
Investigations continue.
