Stolen ute on road for 12 hours
ASLEEP in their beds, a Kelso couple had no idea young thieves were rummaging through their house until it was too late.
Steven Pastorello’s son Jessie and his heavily pregnant partner, Cara, woke to the noise of their Ford Ranger starting up in their driveway, as it was stolen by a group of juveniles.
It would be more than 12 hours until police caught up with the children inside, who were spotted driving dangerously around the city, almost hitting a number of pedestrians.
Mr Pastorello said the dangers could have been easily avoided as his son’s car had a feature many vehicles don’t – a GPS tracker.
“We could see exactly where the car was all day,” Mr Pastorello said.
“So could police, and yet they did not intercept the car until after the kids tried to run my son over, as well as other people, and fuel up twice during the day.”
Police eventually cornered the juveniles at United Service Station on Ingham Rd about 3pm on Monday.
Four juveniles were arrested and charged, with three kept behind bars and one girl pleading guilty and having her matter finalised.
But Mr Pastorello was fuming, saying police could have stepped in earlier. “They could have intervened at any time, blocked them off, or something.
“We could see exactly where the car was the entire day, including periods where it was stationary for 10 or 15 minutes.”
Townsville District Chief Superintendent Craig Hanlon said police will always put the safety of officers and the community first.
“Vehicle intercepts are inherently
risky to police and the general public, there are a lot of issues police have to consider,” Superintendent Hanlon said.
“We have to weigh up the location, the resources, the type of car, people in the car, people around.
“We will always wait until we believe it is an appropriate time to intercept.”
Superintendent Hanlon said his crews would reach out to the family to discuss the issue.
Mr Pastorello said they were lucky to escape without any injuries.
“We are so fortunate … we heard a lollipop lady nearly got hit by them after they came back to Jessie’s house,” Mr Pastorello said.
He recounted the moment the juveniles allegedly tried to run over his son about 8.30am when they returned to his house about six hours after the original theft.
“I reversed my car out on to the road to try and block them in.
“They nearly ran over Jessie, he had to jump up on to the fence, and they just missed me.
“They’ve ripped everything out from underneath a young couple who are doing good things and making a difference.
“Their lives have been turned upside down, they are living in fear.”
A 15-year-old Garbutt boy was charged with burglary with intent, possessing tainted property and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
He was remanded in custody. A 17-year-old Bushland Beach girl was charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle and remanded in custody. A 17-year-old Kirwan girl was charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle, driving without a licence and dangerous operation of a vehicle. He was remanded in custody. A 14-year-old girl was also sentenced in court this week to eight months’ probation over an unlawful use charge.