Family detains alleged serial car thief caught during break in

A Toowoomba family has told what it was like waking up to find an alleged serial car thief in their home, how they detained him and what he had to say for himself.

A Darling Heights mum has recounted the shock she felt when she found a 15-year-old boy in her home.

Ashlie Johnson said she woke up on Thursday morning to the sound of her husband yelling, “what the f--- are you doing in my home”, after he found the boy in their kitchen.

“My husband gets up early to go to work and he said he saw a light shining in our kitchen,” she said.

“The boy tried to leave but my husband would not let him go and I called the police who came straight away.”

It is understood the boy had entered the Darling Heights home about 6am looking for keys for the couple’s Audi which was parked on the road.

Mr Johnson went looking for the other boy but he had run off.

Instead, he found a pair of crutches.

A Darling Heights couple detained a 15-year-old boy after they found him in their home, about 6am on Thursday, May 11, 2023.

The boy had been involved in an incident on Sunday evening where he allegedly crashed a stolen car into the BP service station Tor St, in Newtown.

At the time the boy was arrested and dealt with under provisions in the Youth Justice Act.

He was also involved in a deadly traffic crash in June 2022 where a stolen car left the Warrego Highway and rolled at speed.

The boy suffered a critical head injury and was hospitalised for several months. This was the same crash that killed 13-year-old Oakey boy, Keyhill Gibbs.

Ms Johnson said the boy appeared very calm and polite as they waited for police to arrive.

“He was not rude or anything and he didn’t show any emotion,” she said.

“My two-year-old child was standing in front of him because he was curious why this person was in our house.”

A Queensland Police Service spokesman said the boy was arrested and police were preparing to charge him.