“Get out”: Toowoomba woman thrown from car on way to work in terrifying carjacking

A Toowoomba woman was on her way to work when she was thrown from her car during a terrifying carjacking involving two young men who were on bail at the time, a court heard.

Sheldon William Brown and Brock Aiden Dornbusch guilty of Toowoomba carjacking. Picture: Genric / FILE

Two recidivist property offenders from the Toowoomba region have pleaded guilty to the violent carjacking of a Rangeville woman.

The 20-year-olds, Sheldon William Brown and Brock Aiden Dornbusch targeted the woman in the early hours of the morning on January 6, 2024, while she reversed out of her driveway.

The young men were on parole at the time.

The Toowoomba District Court heard the woman was leaving for work when Dornbusch appeared at her door and demanded she get out of the car.

The woman continued to reverse her car, however Dornbusch managed to get inside and put his foot on the break and the vehicle in park.

Dornbusch then threatened the woman with a stick before throwing her from the vehicle by the hair.

Brown and Dornbusch then left in the woman’s car which was used in the commission of other crimes and was spotted travelling around the region with numerous stolen plates.

The court heard the pair was arrested three days later after the car was involved in a traffic crash on January 9.

At the Toowoomba District Court on Monday, September 2, Brown and Dornbusch pleaded guilty to the unlawful entry of a car with the intent to commit a crime while at night using violence while armed and in company.

Brown also pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a car, receiving stolen registration plates, break and enter, and stealing.

The court heard earlier in the year, Dornbusch was sentenced to an 18 month jail term after he also pleaded guilty to a raft of summary property charges related to the incident.

Judge Dennis Lynch KC said although Dornbusch seemed to be the main offender Brown clearly participated and was equally culpable for the crime.

He said both of the young men had relevant and lengthy criminal histories for their ages, however Dornbusch’s was particularly ‘alarming’ given the amount of unlawful use convictions.

The court heard Dornbusch had a very traumatic and deprived upbringing, and as an eight-year-old boy he witnessed his mother commit suicide with a firearm.

Since his mother’s death, he received no support or counselling.

The court heard both men struggled with meth addiction and Brown had been on a waiting list for a suboxone program for eight months before his arrest.

The court heard at the time of the offending an impulsive and easily influenced Brown had been kicked out of home and lived with a number of mental health issues.

Judge Lynch sentenced Brown to a two year and a half year jail term and Dornbusch to a three year jail term.

The 237 days each of the men spent in presentence custody was declared as time served.

Brown and Dornbusch were granted illegibility for release on parole.