Perth dad allegedly assaulted with ‘stun gun’ during e-scooter sale
A 14yo was trying to sell an e-scooter to three men when they handed over a bag of “fake cash”, but the dad stepped in and all hell broke loose.
A father has allegedly been assaulted with a “stun gun” as he intervened during an e-scooter sale between his son and three men in Perth’s northeast.
Bevan’s teenage boy placed an ad on Facebook Marketplace for his Teverun-branded device, with one man responding saying he was interested.
The buyer and two other men turned up to Bevan’s home in The Vines on Monday afternoon.
During the interaction, his son was allegedly handed a bag of fake cash.
That is when Bevan stepped in.
“I looked at it, I said, ‘mate, this is fake money, we’re not going to take it’,” he told 9News.
“Straight away he got violent.”
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The pair then got into a fight and a stun gun was allegedly pulled out by the man.
Bevan claims he was tased on the hand and chin.
“That’s where I actually hit the Taser at one point there, but a lot of the time I blocked it,” the 66-year-old said, showing the wounds on his knuckles.
It is also alleged the 28-year-old buyer attempted to start and get away with the e-scooter.
The trio fled from the property when a police vehicle drove by.
The buyer allegedly jumped fences and hid in the garage of an elderly woman’s home as officers searched for him.
He then fled to a nearby street where the man was arrested in dramatic scenes.
“There was just a terrible commotion. You could just hear a lot of commotion and angst going on. It was just chaos out here,” a neighbour told 9News.
An ambulance had to be called when the 28-year-old suffered a medical episode.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said two off-duty officers helped responding police when they learned what was happening.
“He went jumping some fences and hid in a garage before he was arrested by police who were responding to the triple-0 call,” Comm Blanch said.
“Again, that’s just goes to show that risk sometimes of that marketplace response, and the person arrested is very well known to police, so sadly, there’s some people out there planning to do these types of things on a regular basis.”
The 28-year-old man has been charged with four offences including attempted aggravated armed robbery and aggravated assault occasioning bodily harm.
Bevan warned others trying to sell personal items online or social media to be extra cautious, urging them to not meet buyers at their home.
“Anywhere public, even meet them at the bloody Ellenbrook police station and sell it to them there, anywhere but your own house 100 per cent,” he said.
Comm Blanch agreed with Bevan’s remarks.
“I think there’s some really clear messages for people, particularly selling things on online marketplaces, probably don’t advertise your home address,” he said.
“Go to somewhere public — a police station, car park, somewhere like that — where there’s other people around and there’s an element of a security or safety layer.”
The warning has also been extended to sale of cars online, with police warning prospective buyers they could be unknowingly purchasing a stolen vehicle.
“Request to see photographic identification from the seller in the form of a valid Western Australian driver’s licence and (check) that the details match that of the person they are physically purchasing the vehicle from,” a police spokeswoman said to The West Australian.
“Do not accept the sale of motor vehicles from persons who are selling on behalf of another person and using prefilled Department of Transport Vehicle Transfer papers in a third-party name.
“Do not exchange personal identification details in the form of digital copies of driver's licences to unknown persons as they may be used to facilitate the fraudulent application of credit cards and or purchase of motor vehicles.”
Originally published as Perth dad allegedly assaulted with ‘stun gun’ during e-scooter sale
