Rockampton’s Tamykka Skye Carmichael jailed for stolen cars and drugs

The victim of terrifying ambush outside a Queensland pub by a man high on meth has fronted court for her own drug-linked crimes after the nightmare near-abduction foreshadowed a series of tragedies.

Tamykka Skye Carmichael, 30, faced Rockhampton Magistrates Court recently for 32 offences ranging from possessing methamphetamines, MDMA, cocaine and Lyrica to being involved with stolen cars, tainted property and taking drugs into the courthouse. She is pictured with one of her stolen car co-accused Ashley Wovat.

A victim of a horrific attempted kidnapping outside her workplace by a man high on meth has fronted court for her own crimes after her life spiralled following the nightmare experience and deaths of her mother and partner.

Tamykka Skye Carmichael’s ordeal outside the Park Avenue Hotel at Rockhampton, where a meth-addled man tried to drag her into his ute, first made headlines in 2019.

The tragic turn her life had taken since was detailed in Rockhampton Magistrates Court recently when the now 30-year-old pleaded guilty to 32 offences ranging from possessing methamphetamines, MDMA, cocaine and Lyrica to being involved with stolen cars, tainted property and taking drugs into the courthouse.

Police prosecutor Corey O’Connor said Carmichael was with her co-offender and former boyfriend Ashley Wovat, when he asked a victim for a lift on April 21 at 1am and the victim declined.

He said while the victim went to the bathroom, Wovat stole the keys and took possession of the vehicle and drove off with Carmichael in the passenger seat.

The pair were involved in a protracted criminal event where a green Toyota Camry was stolen on May 2, the same day Carmichael was caught with cocaine.

Mr O’Connor said police then received information that “a female had been run over by a Camry and assaulted by a male” and many police responded, locating the vehicle involved with an attempt to intercept before it sped away.

The court heard during Wovat’s sentencing that during a pursuit, his driving forced motorists off the road, narrowly missing collisions while travelling at speed and three police vehicles sustained damage but there were no charges laid against Wovat for the damage to the police vehicles nor allegations he intentionally rammed them or there were crashes.

“There was a 17 minute pursuit… where the defendant is described as showing no regard to members of the public, driving at high speeds, driving on the wrong side of the road and failing to stop at traffic lights,” police prosecutor Clancy Fox said during Wovat’s sentencing.

Ashley Lawrence Wovat, 35, consumed 0.7 grams of meth before he was spotted in a stolen car and was involved in a 17-minute police pursuit through Rockhampton in the middle of the day, Rockhampton Magistrates Court heard on May 31.

The chase came to an end when Wovat struck another person’s vehicle near a hotel.

Both Carmichael and Wovat tried to make a run for it but were quickly apprehended by police.

Mr O’Connor said Carmichael denied knowing the vehicle was stolen when speaking with police.

Wovat, who had a 15-page criminal record, pleaded guilty to two counts of driving while his licence was SPER-suspended and two of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, along with one count each of stealing fuel, evade police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle while on drugs, possessing a used drug pipe and failing to stop at the scene of a crash to provide particulars.

He was sentenced to 18 months prison to start after the 2.5 year prison term he previously received for his role in a ram raid at Gladstone Motorcycles ended.

He will be eligible for parole from November 30, 2024.

Wovat was also disqualified from driving for three years and two months and convictions were recorded.

Meanwhile, the court heard Carmichael’s DNA was linked to another stolen car, taken on February 24, 2023, after someone broke into the owner’s residence.

Police came upon Carmichael at a bus stop at 3am on December 9, 2022, on the corner of Duffy Street and Richardson Road in Kawana and after a conversation, they searched her black bag, finding her in possession of MDMA in powder form and five bank cards suspected to be stolen or unlawfully obtained.

Mr O’Connor said Carmichael admitted to having the bank cards in her possession for weeks and had not made attempts to return them to their rightful owners.

Another of Carmichael’s ex-lovers handed her belongings into police in March 2023 and in the mix was a driver’s license belonging to one of her victims which had been stolen sometime between August 21, 2022 and April 9, 2023.

Carmichael was also busted with less than one gram of meth when she entered Rockhampton courthouse on April 26, 2024.

Defence lawyer Jess King said Carmichael had been working at the Park Avenue Hotel when she was the victim of an attempted kidnapping in May, 2019.

Her attacker, Beau Burke, was high on meth when he approached Carmichael, who was 24 at the time, asking her for directions before eventually lunging at her, grabbing her around her neck and hair and trying to drag her to his car.

The court heard during his sentencing that Carmichael struggled and managed to sound his horn as he attempted to gag her with a cloth and shove her in the car, attracting the attention of someone in the hotel, but not before she was struck in the head so hard she could taste blood.

It also heard she asked the offender what he wanted to which he responded, “I want you”.

Someone from the hotel and eventually her partner came to her assistance while Burke took off.

Ms King said after that, Carmichael tried to continue working in the hospitality industry, working two months at The Criterion in Quay Street where she had “to ask security guards to walk her to her car” after her shift.

She said her client’s mother had died in 2020 after an unexpected illness which resulted in Carmichael caring for her for five years and stopping her hospitality work.

She also said two years later, Carmichael’s former partner died.

“That was a relatively new relationship,” Ms King said.

“It was a significant loss for her to go through.

“She turned to drugs and negative associations.”

Carmichael was now medicated for post traumatic stress disorder.

Ms King said and her client was in a relationship with Wovat in April this year when and she was not involved in the pursuit other than being a passenger in the car.

Carmichael pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, four of possessing a dangerous drug, six of breaching bail, three of possessing S4 medication, two of possessing a knife in a public place, three of failing to appear in court, two of stealing, and one count each of possessing tainted property, driving while licence demerit point suspended, possessing a used syringe, obstructing police, possessing property suspected to be tainted, and possessing an item either stolen or unlawfully obtained.

She was sentenced to 12 months prison with 116 days presentence custody declared as time already served and immediate release on parole.

Carmichael was also placed on probation for 15-months and disqualified from driving for six-months.

Convictions were recorded.

Originally published as Rockampton’s Tamykka Skye Carmichael jailed for stolen cars and drugs