Man fried on drugs bashes friend in car

A YOUNG man robbed his own homeless friend, stealing her car after hitting her on the back of the head with a baseball bat when she refused to hand over the keys.

The Townsville District Court heard Oren Thomas Davies, 19, was getting a lift from a friend in her car on November 20, 2018, when he pulled out a baseball bat from his pants and threatened her.

“I’m going to do this nicely, I need the car,” he told her.

When she refused to hand over the keys, or drive Davies to Ayr as he demanded, he then struck her and pushed her towards the driver’s door to force her exit.

Davies, under the influence of drugs, then drove the car around Townsville and Ayr before dumping it in Kirwan the next day. The following day Davies apologised to the woman for what he did to her, explaining he was “fried and f----- up on drugs”.

He admitted to the woman that he had abandoned the car and offered to break into the police impoundment to return it to her.

The car was never returned to its owner, who was living in a series of hotels with her children and wasn’t able to recover it because she couldn’t afford to.

Davies pleaded guilty to four charges, including one count of armed robbery with violence, when he appeared via video link from the Capricornia Correctional Centre on Monday.

Davies also stole a computer and speakers from another woman’s Kirwan home in either late November or early December court heard.

Defence barrister Kelly Stone said the man was remorseful for his actions and had battled with drugs addictions from birth.

Mr Stone said Davies was born addicted to drugs because his mother abused substances while she was pregnant with him, resulting in Davies starting to use marijuana at age six, and methamphetamine at age 11.

Judge John Coker took into account the man’s disadvantaged upbringing but said it did not excuse his offending.

Davies was sentenced to three years imprisonment. A parole release date was set for December 3, 2019.

Davies’ 279 days spent in pre-sentence custody was declared as time already served. 2018, the