Crime spree: Roma teens terrorise woman with bats in petrifying home invasion

Armed teens stormed a female medical student’s home to steal her car before going on a destructive crime spree. The court heard they didn’t understand the gravity of their actions at the time of the terrifying home invasion.

Picture: File

A young medical student was confronted by three teenagers armed with bats during a terrifying home invasion while she was on placement at a south west Queensland Hospital.

Two of the teenagers, a 15 and 16-year-old, were sentenced to nine month probation orders before the Childrens Court of Queensland in Toowoomba on Thursday, April 2025, after they spent about 8 months in custody.

They pleaded guilty to a raft of charges, including armed robbery in company with personal violence, unlawful use, dangerous operation of a car, stealing, wilful damage, and attempted break and enter.

The teenagers were sentenced in Toowoomba on Thursday, April 10, 2025.

The court heard the home invasion occurred in Roma during a property crime spree across the town on August 9, 2024, and that the boys were on bail conditions at the time.

The 25-year-old medical student was at her accommodation when she heard someone knocking.

Prosecutor Abby Kong said when she answered her door, the two teenagers and a 17-year-old “charged” through the door armed with bats, pushing the woman to the ground and demanding she stay on the floor.

The trio took off with the woman’s car, which they used during a spate of property crimes.

Ms Kong said the juveniles recorded videos and posted them to social media, which showed they were driving dangerously.

They used the woman’s credit card, spending $135, and they also used the car during a fuel drive off.

Ms Kong said they also stopped off at a number of businesses where they then smashed and attempted to smash glass windows with their bats.

She said that during the night, they threw objects at police cars as they drove by.

Two days later, police arrested and charged all three boys.

The court heard one of the two teenagers who were sentenced had more charges which related to crimes committed a few months earlier, one of which was the violent robbery of a Taxi driver on April 20.

However, Ms Kong said the teenager’s only role in the robbery was being the getaway driver.

Ms Kong said the home invasion would have been terrifying for the victim and noted the teenagers did not seem to appreciate or acknowledge the seriousness and consequences of their crime.

She said their attitudes were concerning.

The court heard the teens had a disadvantaged and challenging upbringing, and both had limited schooling, but they had been attending educational programs in detention, however classes only ran for about 20 minutes and did not run every day.

Neither of the teenagers had served time in juvenile detention before, which the court heard had been an eye-opening experience.

No convictions were recorded given their age, co-operation, history, and time spent in detention.

The pair’s 17-year-old co-offender was sentenced for his role in the crime spree in December 2024.