Larcome Brown and William Armstrong face court after fatal Ogmore crash

A court has heard the shocking details of how a stolen car was driven ‘erratically’ before it flew 20ft in the air and crashed, claiming the life of one of its passengers.

Larcome Allan Brown (inset top) and William Noel Armstrong (inset bottom) have been charged over an alleged car theft and crash at Ogmore on Sunday, April 24, 2022.

A stolen car, which was being driven erratically, flew 20 feet into the air before crashing and claiming the life of one of its passengers.

William Noel Armstrong, 21, and Larcome Allan James Keith Brown, 21, pleaded guilty in Rockhampton District Court on Wednesday to armed robbery with violence and wilful damage.

Armstrong also pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death, break and enter, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and stealing.

The charges relate to a fatal crash which happened on April 24, 2022, claiming the life of Joshua Brown who was a passenger in the front seat and the brother of Larcome Brown.

Both young men were seen hanging their heads in the dock as the details of their offending was revealed in court.

On April 23 the pair went to the Berserker home of a man they had met a week prior, Armstrong was armed with a crowbar and Brown was armed with a metal pole, the court heard.

The man heard banging on his door before the pair barged their way into the home, demanding the man’s wallet and bank card.

Larcome Allan James Keith Brown pleaded guilty to armed robbery with violence and wilful damage.

The court heard the man stayed silent in fear, while Brown and Armstrong picked up a bag that was in the victim’s room and went through it.

They took the man’s bank card and $25, and yelled at the man to give them the PIN number to the card.

The man didn’t respond and Armstrong and Brown then each punched the man once to his face, the court heard.

The man told the pair the wrong PIN out of fear of being punched again.

Brown and Armstrong then went through the home, and were heard smashing things.

The court heard the victim did not emerge from his room until it was safe to do so and saw the lid of his washing machine had been torn off, before running to a payphone at Northside Plaza to call police.

The following day Armstrong, Larcome Brown and Joshua Brown went to the home of a man and stole a mobile phone and keys to a Toyota HiLux.

The court was told the owner of the car tried to stop the trio by grabbing onto the vehicle, but sustained injuries.

Armstrong was the driver, Joshua Brown was sitting in the front passenger seat and Larcome Brown was in the back seat.

The HiLux was seen driving north on the Bruce Highway towards Mackay at speed.

At 6.30pm the ute was seen leaving a Puma Service Station on Yaamba Rd where it crossed three lanes of traffic, including in front of cars that were travelling in a southerly direction, the court heard.

Just before 7.30pm the HiLux overtook a car on the Bruce Highway at Ogmore, where the speed limit is 110km/h.

Armstrong, who was driving, overtook the car on a downhill, long and straight sweeping bend.

The driver of the car lost sight of the HiLux, but saw it again as they came around the bend.

The court heard the ute was “swerving aggressively” side to side before launching up an embankment to the left and flying about 20ft in the air before landing across the highway.

As the witness stopped, they saw Armstrong and Larcome Brown running around outside of the car and behaving in “an erratic manner”.

The witness locked her doors, reversed and drove back from where she came trying to call police.

Another man and his son stopped at the crash site where they saw Joshua Brown on the road, the court heard.

The man tried keeping Brown and Armstrong calm while trying to help Joshua Brown, while his son called emergency services.

Armstrong told the man he had been driving the stolen car and that he had taken ice, the court heard.

William Noel Armstrong was the driver of the HiLux when it was seen driving erratically before crashing.

Joshua Brown was taken to Rockhampton Hospital in a critical condition by helicopter, and was declared brain dead on April 26 and died on April 27.

Crown prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence told the court at the time of the offending both Armstrong and Brown were on parole.

She said Armstrong had been paroled after serving time on a sentence that was already cumulative on a prior sentence.

Ms Lawrence said the sentence Armstrong received would have to be cumulative on those sentences again.

She said Brown didn’t have the same sentencing issues.

Armstrong’s barrister Sheridan Shaw told the court that when she asked Armstrong about the incident during conferencing the first thing he said was “it was all my fault”.

Ms Shaw told the court Armstrong was a cousin of the Brown brothers, had spent most of his adult life in jail and had a problem with meth.

She said before the offending Armstrong tried moving to Moura to get away from drug associates in Rockhampton but said “it wasn’t far enough”.

Ms Shaw said Armstrong planned to move to Innisfail when he was released from prison to live and obtain work with his uncle.

Brown’s barrister Julie Marsden told the court her client began using ice after the loss of a friend and that the past 12 months in custody had been a “struggle”.

Ms Marsden said Brown had a 10-month-old child who he had missed out on major milestones with.

She said upon his release he planned to relocate to Cairns to be with his mother and closer to his family, and make up for lost time with his child.

Ms Marsden said her client had suffered significant consequences outside of the court process, losing his brother as a result of the crash.

After considering the sentence overnight, Judge Jeff Clarke handed down his decision on Thursday morning.

Judge Clarke took into account the pleas of guilty from both Armstrong and Brown.

He said it was his third time sentencing Armstrong in two years in the District Court.

He took into account the pair’s criminal history and their personal backgrounds, as well as their young age.

Judge Clarke said the fact that both men were on parole at the time of the offending aggravated what they did.

He said Armstrong was also on bail and had never held a driver’s licence.

“This offence should simply have not occurred,” he said.

“I am told your offending was both informed by and in the context of drug use of methamphetamine.

“That affords no factor of mitigation and, in my view, only serves to make your conduct more unpredictable.

“I expect the victim of the home invasion would have been very scared by this ordeal, and it must have been extremely confronting for other road users and emergency personnel to be confronted with the event of the crash and its aftermath on the highway.”

Judge Clarke said there needed to be “substantial moderation” for Armstrong’s sentence due to the cumulative nature the sentences would need to be structured.

For the armed robbery charge Armstrong was sentenced to three years imprisonment and received two years for the dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death charge.

The sentences were ordered to be served cumulatively on each other and cumulative on the sentence he is currently serving for other matters.

In total, the jail term is nine years and he will be eligible for parole on June 27 this year.

Armstrong was also disqualified from holding a driver’s licence absolutely.

Brown was sentenced to four years imprisonment with 263 days of presentence custody declared as time served, as Brown’s last sentence had expired while on remand.

He will be eligible for parole on August 7 this year.

Originally published as Larcome Brown and William Armstrong face court after fatal Ogmore crash