Man charged over carjacking ordeal
A ROSEWOOD man will front court today on child stealing and robbery charges after the brutal carjacking of a woman in a supermarket carpark in Laidley. Terrifyingly, the woman’s daughter, 3, was strapped inside the vehicle.
SHE was parked outside the Laidley IGA supermarket, her two daughters aged nine and three in the back seat.
She was waiting for her son to finish picking up a few groceries when a drunk man with a slim build approached the Ford Falcon sedan intent on stealing it about 7.30pm Wednesday.
The man demanded the woman get out of the vehicle but she wasn’t quick enough - he bashed her head on the steering wheel and dragged her from the seat, tearing a nose ring from her face in a brutal assault police say is not common for a town like Laidley.
The woman, 41, made a desperate bid to save her daughters, managing to get the nine-year-old out of the car first.
By the time she went back for the younger girl, the man, who had been drinking at pubs in the town leading up to the vicious carjacking, had driven it away.
Darling Downs Detective Inspector Dave Isherwood said the young girl was found two streets away unharmed and returned to the terror-stricken woman.
He said despite the man’s level of intoxication, he believed he recognised the seriousness of the crime which made him stop and remove the child from the car.
“He was heavily intoxicated,” Det. Insp. Isherwood said.
“We know he had been drinking at local hotels which may have something to do with the level of violence he perpetrated on the actual lady herself.
“I unfortunately believe the female victim was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The man escaped in the stolen vehicle, smashing into a fence on William St before evading officers for more than 18 hours despite a large-scale manhunt across the wider Lockyer Valley region.
The search zeroed in on Rosewood after the badly-damaged sedan was found abandoned on Oakleigh Colliery Rd about 6am yesterday.
About 1pm, a Rosewood man was taken into police custody and was assisting police with investigations.
The alleged offences shocked the state and prompted a blunt message from Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart that violent acts and terrifying ordeals would not be tolerated in our communities.
“Thank you for actually having the common sense to stop and remove that child,” Commissioner Stewart said.
“We will go after people who commit this type of offence.
“It really is a shocking event.
“I am appealing to the offender - do the right thing, give yourself up.”
The man is facing a number of serious charges including robbery and child stealing.