Teenager sentenced for stabbing man at Maroochydore bus stop while wanted by police

A teenage boy was on the run from police for months for a brazen robbery when he stabbed a stranger at a Sunshine Coast bus stop, court documents have revealed.

Emergency services on the scene after a man was stabbed outside Sunshine Plaza.

A teenager who stabbed a stranger at a Sunshine Coast bus stop was wanted on an arrest warrant after failing to appear in court for a violent robbery, court documents have revealed.

The startling revelation was recounted in sentencing remarks from the teenager’s Maroochydore Childrens Court hearing released this month which retold the extent of his crimes which began in December, 2023.

Judge Glen Cash told the court hearing in May how the teenager and another juvenile “set upon” a man walking home from the pub in Maroochydore.

The court was told the pair kicked and punched the man before they stole his phone and wallet and fled.

An off-duty police officer just happened to witness the violent attack and helped the semiconscious victim.

He then followed the teenager until other police arrived and arrested him.

The teen was sentenced in the Maroochydore Childrens Court. Picture: Patrick Woods

The 16-year-old was remanded in custody and eventually released on bail in late January 2024, however he failed to appear in court and a warrant was issued for his arrest two months later.

Judge Cash said the teenager was at large until August 19 last year when he was involved in the stabbing at the Maroochydore bus stop outside Sunshine Plaza.

Sentencing remarks state the juvenile rushed up to a random man who was seated behind the bus stop and kicked him in the head.

The teenager produced a knife and then stabbed the man in the leg.

The stabbing occurred at the bus stop adjacent to the Sunshine Plaza in Maroochydore.

Judge Cash labelled it a short jab which caused a “relatively deep wound” but said ultimately the injury was not “terribly serious”.

He was on the run for a day until he was arrested and found with a small amount of meth.

The youth was remanded in custody and spent 10 months in detention before his guilty pleas to robbery in company with personal violence, common assault, wounding and possessing a dangerous drug.

During sentencing Judge Cash read through the teenager’s criminal history, which included assaults, breaking and entering and stealing.

He said this history came in the backdrop of a difficult family life but said the teenager had since received assistance for his mental health while on remand.

Judge Cash said he took into account the programs available for the teenager to get his mental health under control and the fact he had accommodation upon his release from detention.

He placed the teenager on a six-month probation and did not record a conviction.

Originally published as Teenager sentenced for stabbing man at Maroochydore bus stop while wanted by police