Alleged sexual assault at East Side, as police make arrests over string of break-ins

Police are searching for a man who allegedly flashed a woman at East Side, and arrests have been made after a string of break-ins. See the latest crime updates.

Police are seeking witnesses after an alleged sexual assault in East Side on Thursday.

About 6am a woman was allegedly approached by a young man while walking along the Schwartz Cres causeway.

Police alleged the man followed the woman towards Sturt Tce and Giles St where he then grabbed her and exposed himself.

The man then fled the area riding a blue bike with black handlebars.

Detectives from the Alice Springs Criminal Investigation Branch are requesting residents to review their CCTV footage for people in the area at the time and to contact police on 131 444, quoting reference 10502187.

Charges laid after string of break-ins

Police have charged two teenage boys after a string of property crimes in Alice Springs this week.

Between 8am on October 30 and 4.30am on Tuesday police responded to 17 reported burglaries across seven suburbs. Five reports were for commercial properties and 12 for residential homes.

Two 16-year-old boys have since been arrested and charged with multiple property and vehicle offences.

Further young people have been identified in relation to the alleged offending and investigations are ongoing, police say.

Both were bailed and expected to appear in court on Friday.

Acting Superintendent Michael Fields said: “This type of senseless offending has no place in our town and a reinvigorated Operation Drina will see an increase in proactive high visibility policing across Alice Springs.”

“Reducing recidivism is one of our main priorities and we will continue our co-ordination with other agencies to ensure there are appropriate pathways available to these youth.”

“Anyone who witnesses crime or anti-social behaviour is urged to make contact on 131 444.”

Seventeen break-ins, two cars stolen amid spate of crime

A teenage boy was arrested in minutes after he allegedly broke into a Braitling home, one of 17 reported break-ins across Alice Springs overnight.

Southern Watch Commander Robert Griffiths said police arrested the 17-year-old boy just three minutes after the home’s occupants reported the alleged intrusion.

He said officers arrived at the scene and found the boy allegedly fleeing from the back of the property about 9pm Monday.

Sergeant Griffiths said 12 residential properties and five businesses were broken into throughout the night.

He said forensics teams would be attending each property throughout Tuesday.

Sergeant Griffiths said – across all the properties – two sets of car keys, two pairs of shoes, and an iPad were allegedly stolen.

He said no other arrests had been made in relation to the break-ins.

In an unrelated incident, Sergeant Griffiths said up to 10 sets of car keys were stolen from a Tennant Creek business.

He said two cars were stolen from the Schmidt St property between 3am and 4am Tuesday.

Sergeant Griffiths said the two vehicles were driven through the business’s locked gates, and one vehicle was found abandoned just hours later.

He said the second car – a white Toyota HiLux with registration CE11XF – was still missing.

Sergeant Griffiths said no one had been arrested in relation to the theft.

In another unrelated incident, Sergeant Griffiths said police were investigating an abandoned van that had previously been spotted speeding and running red lights in Alice Springs.

He said the van was found in Sadadeen.

“It’s been seized by police and pending further investigation in relation to traffic offending and to establish if it was stolen or not,” Sergeant Griffiths said.

Machete used during Gillen break-in

An offender who allegedly threatened an Alice Springs householder with a machete after he was disturbed during a break-in, has been arrested.

About 12.20pm on Saturday, police received reports that a man had unlawfully entered a residence on Standley Crescent, Gillen.

When confronted during the incident, the man allegedly threatened the resident with a machete before fleeing the home.

Detectives from southern investigations are urging residents in the area to review their CCTV for suspicious behaviour and to contact police on 131 444 with reference number 10497937 or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Alleged ‘intruders’ arrested, hunt for stolen cars continues

Two alleged “intruders” have been arrested after they were caught inside a closed Alice Springs business.

Southern Watch Commander Robert Griffiths said onsite security shut down the building about 4am Monday.

“Police responded to a report of intruders on Hearne Place in Braitling,” he said.

Sergeant Griffiths said police allegedly found a 16-year-old boy and a 19-year-old woman inside the building.

He said nothing was stolen from the business.

“Thanks to the swift work of security and working jointly with police, they were able to be apprehended before they were able to decamp the location with anything,” Sergeant Griffiths said.

He said no charges had been laid in relation to the incident.

Generic image of a Nissan X-Trail.

In unrelated incidents, Sergeant Griffiths said three cars were stolen from two residential properties overnight.

He said a white Nissan X-Trail – registered as CB65IS – was taken from Webb Rd, Ilparpa and was still missing.

Sergeant Griffiths said a blue dual-cab Izuzu D-Max – with registration CD53DU – was stolen from a Desert Springs property between midnight and 2am Monday.

He said the car was still missing, though a second car stolen from the same property overnight had been recovered.

Sergeant Griffiths said the recovered car had been reported after an onlooker “felt the vehicle was out of place”.

He said the car would undergo forensics testing on Monday.

Sergeant Griffiths said there were no arrests in relation to the stolen cars.