Francis Solomon pleads guilty to ram raid at Chemist Warehouse, Jindalee, stolen car crash at Federal

A Townsville mother has admitted to being involved in a crime spree stretching from North Queensland to Brisbane before it ended in a police chase and crash in the Noosa hinterland.

A young Townsville mother-of-three was on the run for committing a daring ram raid in Brisbane when her and two mates were involved in a dangerous police chase which ended in a fiery crash in the Noosa Hinterland.

Multiple police units were deployed to stop Francis Solomon and her two co-accused when they were caught driving a stolen Nissan Patrol on October 22 last year.

Vision released by Queensland Police showed the catastrophic fiery aftermath of their joy ride into scrub before they tried to flee officers.

The blaze from the crash led to almost a dozen fire crews being required to extinguish it.

Details of Solomon’s trail of destruction from North Queensland to Brisbane were revealed in documents tendered during her sentence in Maroochydore Magistrates Court last week, where she pleaded guilty to 10 offences including three counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, two of stealing and one of serious assaulting police.

Francis Solomon. Picture: Facebook

Court documents state Solomon’s spate of offending began in Townsville on July 6 last year when she was seen on CCTV in the front passenger seat of a stolen vehicle at Garbutt, which was taken from a home the day prior.

Police state Solomon was arrested on July 12 and was taken to the police station where she spat phlegm on the front counter glass divider.

Court documents state she swore at an officer and signed the words ‘f*** you’ on her bail slip despite receiving police bail.

The 22-year-old refused to leave the watch-house and was forced to leave by officers. She then spat at an officer as he turned around before she fled.

The aftermath of the crash. Picture: QPS

Court documents state Solomon then cropped up in the Brisbane suburb of Windsor which was burglarised between September 29 and October 2, with her fingerprints found at the scene with property stolen.

Things picked up for Solomon on October 20 when she was involved in a ram raid at Chemist Warehouse in Jindalee with a stolen Volkswagen Golf and stolen Ford Fiesta.

Police state the Ford Fiesta allegedly drove into the business’ front glass sliding doors which allowed some of the car’s passengers to go inside.

Court documents state Solomon was identified as a passenger of the Volkswagen Golf where her and her mates allegedly stole a number of fragrance items before fleeing.

The next day she was seen with a group of co-accused stealing items from a TK Maxx at Macgregor before fleeing in a stolen car.

A tip off from the public allowed police to find the group travelling in a stolen Nissan Patrol near Evans Thomas Rd and Old Bruce Hwy at Federal on October 22 after being spotted in Brisbane by PolAir about 4.30pm.

The stolen vehicle driving from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast. Picture: QPS

Despite heavy traffic congestion, police deployed tyre spikes before the vehicle came to a stop, with Solomon fleeing into bushland to hide from officers, however she was arrested about 6pm.

She was remanded in custody and has been in jail ever since.

Defence solicitor Matt Cooper represented Solomon during her sentence hearing, stating she had completed a drug program while in custody and progressed to the residential part of the jail.

Mr Cooper said she was clean and doing quite well as she was away from drugs.

In documents tendered to the court, an anti-violence community organisation provided a reference to the court speaking of their counselling with Solomon while on the inside.

The document stated the 22-year-old wanted to change her life for the better, especially for her three young children who were under the age of four.

Magistrate Rod Madsen jailed Solomon for 30 months and set her parole eligibility date for June 22.

Originally published as Francis Solomon pleads guilty to ram raid at Chemist Warehouse, Jindalee, stolen car crash at Federal