Armed robber ‘lost own dad’

A MUDGEERABA machine operator riding in the getaway car that killed good Samaritan Darren Pullar lost his own father in a hit-and-run when he was a child.

Timothy Patrick Canty-Walters, 21, pleaded guilty in Southport District Court on Tuesday to two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and in company, and one count of attempted burglary by break-in at night.

Canty-Walters and several friends were drinking and taking illegal drugs when they decided to storm the unit of a suspected drug dealer on December 26, 2016. Armed with knives and bats, the group violently raided the Broadbeach Waters address about 1am. But they were overwhelmed and driven off by neighbours, including Mr Pullar. He tried to stop driver Alexander Craig Kirke from leaving the scene, but the teenager drove straight over Mr Pullar and continued on. No one in the car phoned for help.

Judge Ian Dearden described Canty-Walters as “not criminally liable” but “morally liable” for Mr Pullar’s death. He said it was “profoundly sad” that Canty-Walters’ own dad was killed in a hit-and-run when he was four years old. Canty-Walters was sentenced to an overarching term of three years in jail, with parole release on March 2, 2020.

This month, Kirke, 19, was sentenced to nine years in jail. He is not eligible for parole until July 2022.

On Monday, Cooper James Robson, 20, who remained inside the vehicle during the attempted robbery, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail, wholly suspended, and placed on probation for 12 months.