Townsville man, Jesse Lee Graham Noble jailed for horror carjacking with kids in car
A man who cut his ankle monitor off five days after getting out of jail stole a family’s car with the kids still inside, causing a three-hour man hunt involving the police chopper.
Townsville
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A man cut off his ankle monitor days after being released from prison then stole a family’s car at gunpoint driving off with the children inside.
Jesse Lee Graham Noble was out of jail for only five days when he caused a three-hour manhunt involving a police helicopter to track him as he drove dangerously through Townsville.
The 35-year-old was sentenced in Townsville District Court by Judge William Everson according to court documents which outlined the terror he put a family of one mum and her kids through in 2023.
On July 6, 2023 Noble began his crime spree by threatening a 63-year-old driver with a loaded shotgun and said ‘get out, keys’.
The driver however, pulled the door shut and beeped his horn and drove off.
“Shortly afterwards, you were driving around and you came across someone … who was parked by the side of the road with her five children,” His Honour said.
“You approached her car and said ‘I’m taking your car’ and got into the driver’s seat.”
The court was told the man drove off with the 14 and 16-year-old girls still in the car as well as a four-year-old boy.
“You stopped shortly afterwards and let the four-year-old boy out who said, ‘mummy, he’s got a gun in your car’,” His Honour said.
“You then took off at speed whilst the teenage girls were still inside the car and you drove around with them.”
Throughout the drive Noble stole petrol from service stations and was contacted by police who asked him to release the girls which he declined and in the meantime, police found shotgun cartridges in the stolen vehicle he had been driving prior.
“You eventually stopped driving around the streets of Townsville. But by that time, a Queensland Government helicopter had been utilized to locate the vehicle,” Judge Everson said.
He said Noble had been tracked driving a different stolen vehicle dangerously into oncoming traffic on Fulham Road and eventually stopped after driving at speed at a cop car, missed it and mounted the gutter.
Seven months later while at Townsville Corrections Centre he was found in possession of 0.3g of marijuana, 10 Suboxone strips, a home-made shiv and two cut syringes.
“… You have a truly appalling criminal history and a truly appalling driving history,” Judge Everson said.
“You clearly have a serious problem with your addiction to dangerous drugs. And you clearly are a dangerous recidivist offender who presents a significant risk to public safety as you show a propensity to drive extremely dangerously whilst under the influence of methylamphetamine.
“Obviously, I need to take into account the fact that you have been returned to custody to serve out existing sentences after you so egregiously breached your parole and went on the crime spree for which I am sentencing you.”
Noble pleaded guilty to unlawful entering a vehicle with intent to commit an indictable offence while armed, unlawfully using a motor vehicle and 16 summary charges which included stealing, driving disqualified, possessing explosives, failing to provide specimen of breath and willful damage.
He was sentenced to four years jail and given a parole eligibility date of January 21, 2027. Despite spending 617 days in pre-sentence custody, His Honour did not declare any time as already served and disqualified the man from driving “absolutely”.
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Originally published as Townsville man, Jesse Lee Graham Noble jailed for horror carjacking with kids in car
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