Bid for alleged teen hijacker case to be heard before higher court

Commonwealth prosecutors have told a Children’s Court hearing they want the case against a teenager who allegedly boarded a Jetstar flight near Melbourne armed with a shotgun moved to a higher court.

The 17-year-old boy (face obscured) being apprehended. He is facing 10 criminal charges. Picture: 9NEWS

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Commonwealth prosecutors will seek to have their case against a teenager who allegedly boarded a Jetstar flight armed with a shotgun and an “intent to kill” moved to a higher court.

About 160 passengers were sitting on a flight bound for Sydney at Avalon Airport on March 6 when the 17-year-old allegedly boarded the plane and attempted to hijack it. The boy, who is from the Ballarat region but cannot be named for legal reasons, is currently in custody, charged with 10 criminal offences.

At a Children’s Court hearing before judge Jack Vandersteen on Friday, Victoria Police confirmed it had handed carriage of the matter to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. A lawyer for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions told the court it planned to make an ­application to have the matter heard before a higher court.

“We will be seeking to uplift the matter,” the lawyer said.

A representative from ­Victoria Police told the court it wished to withdraw six of 16 charges it had laid against the boy due to “technical legal ­issues”, being that they were “state charges the commonwealth is unable to prosecute”.

Judge Vandersteen made an order that the six charges be withdrawn. Friday’s hearing follows a court ruling last month in favour of an application by the Australian Federal Police to keep secret the identity of any “foreigner or foreign entities” linked to the boy.

Judge Vandersteen concluded in March that making the suppression orders – which ­expire on June 13 – was “in the interests of Australia’s national security” and “necessary to prevent a real and substantial risk of prejudice to the proper administration of justice”.

This came after the AFP told the court the orders were required to prevent impeding an investigation by a joint counter-terrorism team as to whether the incident had any connection to other national security investigations.

The boy is now facing charges including prejudicing the safe operation of an aircraft with an “intent to kill”, an attempted ­hijack and assaulting a member of an airline crew.

He has also been charged with stealing two 12-gauge shotguns and a rifle, possessing firearms and cartridge ammunition, possessing a controlled weapon, a prejudicing the safe operation of an aircraft offence and driving as a learner without an appropriate supervising driver.

Police believe the boy managed to evade security on March 6 by entering the airport through a hole in the fence before he allegedly boarded the plane where he was restrained by passengers and staff.