Toowoomba juvenile jailed: Child in car during terrifying Brisbane carjacking

After a young Toowoomba woman was robbed of her car at knifepoint, the teenager responsible for the chilling crime has been locked up. Here’s when she will be released.

After a young Toowoomba woman was robbed of her car at knifepoint, the teenager responsible for the chilling crime has been locked up. Picture: File photos

A Toowoomba judge has jailed a teenage girl for her involvement in two chilling car robberies, where on both occasions the victims were confronted with violence.

The now 18-year-old girl, who fled to Toowoomba from Cunnamulla due to domestic violence, was sentenced to a 12 month jail term before Queensland’s Childrens Court on Friday, March 8.

The court heard the girl had a difficult childhood and began using methamphetamine and alcohol from a very young age after falling in with a bad crowd.

The first robbery occurred in Toowoomba on May 11, 2023 when the girl and an older man spotted an empty car running in a driveway.

The teenager had been locked up since her arrest in December, 2023.

The teenage girl, who owned the car, ran back to the vehicle and jumped in the back seat before the pair took off.

But was confronted by the man in the driver’s seat who was holding a machete.

“Get the f--- out before I kill you,” he told her.

When she tried to grab her keys in the centre console, the teenager grabbed her arm.

The man pushed her from the car with the machete, the court heard.

The victim’s mother also attempted to get into the car, however she was knocked to the ground when the car began to move.

Polair tracked the car with the help of the victim’s phone which was left in the vehicle, and police quickly arrested the pair who dumped the car in a paddock and fled into bushland.

The teenager was released on bail following the carjacking and was involved in a similar crime in Brisbane in December 2023.

The court heard the teen was driving a stolen car with a 14-year-old accomplice.

When police successfully spiked the tires, the girl fled on foot before trying to wave down road users.

When a concerned woman stopped to help the girl, the teen promptly jumped into the back seat alongside the woman’s 13-year-old child.

While the woman was driving the teen tried to get into the front of the vehicle, pulled at her hair, and screamed at the pair to “get the f--- out”.

A Toowoomba court heard the teen had a large criminal history for someone her age, however it did not pertain to violent offending.

The woman stopped the car and got out with her son, however the girl couldn’t get the car to start, giving advancing pursuing officers a chance to arrest her.

The crimes were committed while the then 17-year-old was on a probation order, a good behaviour order, and subject to bail conditions.

Judge Benedict Power KC said the teen’s offending was very serious and would have been a terrifying experience for the victims.

He told the girl that it would be her last time before the court as a juvenile, it was her last chance to get her life on track.

He noted upon her release, she planned to return to Cunnamulla and work as a barmaid and warned her to be cautious of the prevalence of substance abuse in regional Queensland, especially to use of methamphetamine.

“I hope you do well – your future is in your hands,” Judge Power said.

The young woman pleaded guilty to six charges which included unlawful uses, robbery with violence in company, and attempted robbery.

She was sentenced to a 12 month jail term and 12 month probation order.

She will be released after serving six months in juvenile detention.
No conviction was recorded.