Wide Bay Crime Spree Leads to Charges

Queensland police have charged a 35-year-old Burrum Heads man with 15 offences following an alleged series of break-ins and vehicle thefts across the Wide Bay region. Police said further charges are expected as investigations continue.

It is alleged the man broke into a commercial property on the Bruce Highway at Maryborough West between midnight and 5 a.m. on May 22 and stole a white Toyota Hilux. Police allege he later broke into a council property in Howard and took a white Ford Ranger.

The Ranger allegedly collided with a police vehicle on Palomino Drive, Branyan, at about 1.20 p.m. The officers were not injured and the police vehicle sustained minor damage. Police later deployed a tyre-deflation device at Aldershot, but the man allegedly fled and stole a white Fuso light truck from a business yard in Maryborough West.

The truck was tracked by POLAIR to a private property at Saint Marys, where it collided with a tree. Police said the man fled on foot before being apprehended. He was charged with 10 counts of entering premises and committing an indictable offence by break, two counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle in company, and one count each of stealing a vehicle, possessing suspected stolen property and obstructing police.

The man remains in custody and is due to appear in Maryborough Magistrates Court on May 26. The charges have not been tested in court. Police cited reference numbers QP2600977397 and QI2600827853.