Northland testing site: John Kaiser allegedly drives at police
A driver allegedly floored it at police, forcing them to jump out of the way to avoid being hit, at the busy Northland carpark, which is a popular COVID-19 testing site. Police say the officers and members of the public could have been killed or seriously injured.
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A driver allegedly accelerated at police, forcing them to jump out of the way to avoid being hit, when they tried to approach him at the busy Northland carpark.
John Kaiser has also been accused of stealing several vehicles from Preston and Reservoir, and of using a driver’s licence stolen from a mailbox to try to take out a fraudulent bank loan.
The unemployed 25-year-old fronted Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, July 30, hit with a range of charges, including recklessly exposing a police officer, while on bail for other charges, including multiple vehicle thefts.
The court heard Kaiser had allegedly risked killing police when he fled from them at Northland about 4pm on July 2.
Senior Constable Damien De Lorenzi said the officers walked up to the stolen Toyota Kaiser was driving before he accelerated to get away.
“Had the members not taken evasive action, there is no doubt a collision would have occurred, resulting in serious injuries to both members, if not death,” he said.
Senior Constable De Lorenzi said Kaiser also endangered members of the public, with the shopping centre carpark being especially busy while being used as a COVID-19 testing site.
The car was allegedly found abandoned in Preston 20 minutes later with 1.4g of methamphetamine, two phones, $300, and Nissan car keys and mail believed to have been stolen.
When police went looking for Kaiser days later his friend allegedly told them Kaiser had been at his house the night of the incident, telling him police were looking for him because he had just “rammed them with a car”.
Kaiser allegedly stole the Toyota from Fordham Rd, Reservoir on July 1, a week after he allegedly stole another Toyota from Belmont St, Preston.
The court heard Kaiser also allegedly used a licence stolen from a mailbox to open a NAB savings account sometime after June 18, with which he tried to apply for a loan.
He also allegedly stole a Mitsubishi van from Reservoir on July 27-28, which he allegedly used to travel to Preston on July 28, where he and a male were seen trying to hot-wire a Mercedes.
When police arrived to try to arrest the pair, they allegedly fled in the van, hitting a parked car in the process.
Kaiser allegedly abandoned the van shortly after, before forcing his way into a Reservoir garage, where he stole a Subaru.
On July 29 people allegedly reported Kaiser struggling to start a car in Reservoir, before police found Kaiser in Wallys Milkbar, where he scaled the counter and fled out the back door, scaling several fences.
He was arrested in a nearby yard.
The court heard the Indigenous man had a number of outstanding charges that had been before the court for a long time because Kaiser had failed to attend court dates.
Kaiser, who applied for bail without a lawyer, said he needed to prepare for his court date on August 3, and offered to report to police and abide by a curfew if granted bail.
Magistrate Ian Alger refused his application, saying he had not demonstrated exceptional circumstances as to why he should be released and was a risk of committing offences and failing to answer bail.
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