Teens plead guilty in Toowoomba Childrens Court to 200+ crime spree in South East Queensland and Darling Downs

A teenager who rampaged through business and homes across Brisbane and the Darling Downs claimed to have no memory of many of his devastating crimes.

Picture: Kevin Farmer

A teenage boy has fessed up to more than 100 crimes despite claiming he had no real memory of much of his offending.

A 16-year-old Inala boy and 17-year-old Warwick boy pleaded guilty to a combined 219 charges on Monday before Toowoomba Childrens Court after embarking on a four-day crime spree impacting business and residents across South East Queensland and the Darling Downs.

Police prosecution detailed offending ranging from receiving tainted property, wilful damage, stealing, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and numerous break and enter at homes and business across the state’s south.

The offending largely took place over four days between Greater Brisbane and Gatton with victims scattered across Hattonvale, Oxley, Salisbury, Taringa, Forest Lake, Annerley, Sunnybank Hills and Sinnamon Park.

The prosecutor told the court that the majority of the victims were small businesses including bakeries, pet stores, florists, furniture stores, newsagents, hairdressers, cafes, restaurants, a superannuation office, massage therapist, kebab stores and service stations.

The teenagers also admitted to stealing cars from multiple homes, in some circumstances taking keys from inside the dwelling.

“There is a huge range of members of our community that have been impacted by this raft of offending and the offending has continued unabated until the defendant is in custody,” the prosecutor said of the 16-year-old Inala boy.

His solicitor Phil Stainton from Legal Aid Queensland claimed the 16-year-old struggled to remember the details of his crimes.

“He has no idea why he did what he did,” Mr Stainton said.

“He instructs he was just dumb, he felt like a lot of the offending was just blacked out.

“Even though there was no drugs involved, he doesn’t have a recollection of a number of the offences.”

He argued the Inala teen was driven to offend when in the presence of his co-accused, the 17-year-old Warwick boy.

“While he does not blame anyone else for this offending, when (they) get together that’s when things go awry, and on this occasion it’s gone well and truly awry,” he claimed.

He added the young boy’s 75 days in pre-sentence custody had made a “significant impact” on him and added he was motivated to return to touch football and his family.

When asked if he had anything to say to the charges, the 16-year-old offered a short apology.

“I’m sorry to all the people I did it to, yeah,” he said.

Magistrate Kay Ryan aired her disbelief at the magnitude of offending.

“You hear about people calling them crime sprees,” she said.

“It just didn’t stop … I’ve not seen one quite as bad as this before.

“It’s really quite shocking.

“Going forward you’re going to have to use what’s up here, in your brain, in your head … you’re going to have to be strong.”

The 16-year-old was ordered to serve 12 months’ probation with no convictions recorded.

He was due to appear on other charges in Brisbane Magistrates Court on November 19, 2024.

His co-accused, the 17-year-old Warwick boy, also pleaded guilty on Monday to more than 100 offences.

His sentence was adjourned until December 17, 2024 to allow for a presentence report from the Youth Justice department to be completed.