14 November 2009

Police Wrap - 14 November

| johnboy
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1. Knocking over the Pizza Hut:

Detectives from ACT Policing’s Territory Investigations Group are seeking witnesses to an aggravated robbery that occurred at the Pizza Hut store in Phillip on Saturday night.

Police were called to the Botany Street business about 10.30pm after two males entered the store, one armed with a knife, and removed cash from the register. No employees were injured during the incident.

Both offenders have been described as Caucasian men aged in their early twenties, about 175cm (5’9”) in height and wearing bandanas underneath baseball caps. One was wearing a polo shirt whilst the other wore a light coloured jumper, baggy track pants and Nike running shoes.

Police are following a number of lines of inquiry and a forensic examination will be conducted. Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

2. Born to lose:

ACT Policing will summons a 31-year-old man to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court after he was identified speeding on Adelaide Avenue this morning (9 November) with an unrestrained child in the car.

A Traffic Operations member detected the man driving his Ford sedan at 131kp/h in an 80kp/h zone about 8.20am after he overtook traffic in the left hand bicycle lane of the busy arterial road.

When the vehicle came to a stop, police observed a four-year-old child sitting in the front passenger seat with no restraints.

The man will be summonsed for driving in a manner dangerous, driving whilst right to drive suspended and having a child under 16 unrestrained in the front seat.

Meanwhile, General Duties officers from Woden Police Station are seeking witnesses to a collision on the Tuggeranong Parkway this morning which resulted in a young motorcyclist sustaining lacerations to her foot.

The 20-year-old had been riding her moped north along the Parkway, just past the Cotter Road on-ramp, about 7.00am when a white tradesman’s utility that was passing her lost a step ladder and a cardboard box containing piping insulation from its tray.

The cardboard box passed into the path of the female, who lost control of her bike and fell onto the roadway. She was narrowly missed by passing traffic and was transported to Calvary Hospital for treatment.

Anyone with any information about this utility or the possible identity of the driver is urged to contact Crime Stoppers

3. Perhaps a sign of the endemic nature of the offence?

The issue of repeat drink-drive offenders persists in the ACT, with 27 per cent of all drink drivers apprehended during a recent four-week period found to have at least one previous conviction for the offence.

In an analysis of the licence status and previous convictions of drink drivers apprehended in the ACT from October 6 to November 2, police found that 30 of the 109 were drivers with previous convictions for drink-driving.

Conditional, probationary or provisional drivers whose licence conditions prohibit them from exceeding a Blood Alcohol Level (BAC) of 0.02 were almost as highly represented in the results as those who exceeded their stipulated BAC of 0.05.

Of the 44 drivers who exceeded their 0.02 BAC limit, there were 13 (29 per cent) with previous convictions. Of the 65 drivers who exceeded their 0.05 BAC limit, there were 17 (26 per cent) with previous convictions.

Nine of the drivers apprehended during the four-week sample period had high-level BAC readings in excess of 0.20. These included a 52-year-old male with five previous convictions who, when apprehended again on October 21, recorded 0.202. As a probationary driver, his stipulated limit was 0.02.

On October 28, police apprehended a 63-year-old male driver who recorded a BAC of 0.203. This driver was later found to have seven previous convictions for drink-driving offences.

Weekends were when drivers were more likely to offend. Of the 109 apprehended, 68 were caught drink-driving on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Traffic Operations Superintendent Mark Colbran said police were continually frustrated and disappointed at the number of repeat drink-drive offenders who treat the law and the safety of other road users with such indifference and contempt.

“The community needs to be aware of the huge risk these offenders present to all road users. Recidivist drink-drinking is a community issue. If someone knows of a person who is a repeat drink-drive offender, they should say something or contact police and we will take action,” Supt Colbran said.

4. Of course he was breaching his bail:

Detectives from ACT Policing’s Drug Investigations Team have arrested three people following the execution of a search warrant at a house in Rivett earlier today (10 November).

Police executed the warrant at the Nelumbo Street house just after 11.00am, allegedly finding the female occupant inside the house with a number of small packages containing a powder thought to be heroin.

Two men who attended the residence during the search warrant were also arrested, one allegedly found in possession of 15 grams of suspected heroin and another allegedly in possession of about 3 grams of suspected methylamphetamine.

The 32-year-old female and a 36-year-old man have been charged with trafficking in a controlled substance, whilst a 31-year-old man has been charged with breach of bail and possess a controlled substance. All three are expected to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court tomorrow morning.

5. When running from the cops, best not to run towards your home?

ACT Policing has arrested four people and recovered three stolen motor vehicles after a distinctive stolen light blue Ford Falcon GT was sighted by police in a Yarralumla backyard.

The Ford GT was one of two vehicles stolen during a burglary at a Chifley home in the early hours of today (November 10). The second vehicle was a Nissan 350Z, both vehicles were stolen using the keys taken during the burglary.

Police discovered the GT around 1pm today, after it had been reported that a male had allegedly assaulted another man at the Narrabundah shops before driving off in the Falcon.

A short time later police on patrol in Yarralumla sighted a male who ran from police leading them to the rear yard of the premises where the stolen GT was located. Three males were located with the vehicle and subsequently arrested. The first male, identified as a 21-year-old Narrabundah man fled the scene. He was later identified driving a suspected stolen motor vehicle in Kingston and was arrested by police.

A few streets away from the Yarralumla address the Nissan 350Z was recovered containing property suspected to have been stolen from another burglary at a restaurant in Kingston also in the early hours of the morning.

Three men and one juvenile male will face the ACT Magistrates Court and ACT Children’s Court tomorrow (November 11) charged with multiple property crime and traffic offences.

6. Why arse around with guns when the kitchen chopper works just as well?

ACT Policing is seeking witnesses to two aggravated robberies which occurred in Curtin and Braddon overnight (November 12).

About 8.00pm yesterday a man armed with a knife entered the Blockbuster video store at Curtin shops and demanded staff hand over money from the till. The man departed the location with a sum of cash in a late 80s silver V8 Commodore which was waiting outside.

The offender is described as being of Caucasian appearance, around 30 years old, approximately 170cm (5’7) tall, with a slim build and brown facial stubble. The man was wearing sunglasses, a long-sleeved black jacket with a black hooded jumper underneath, blue tracksuit pants with a white stripe down each leg and white shoes with black soles.

The second incident, which appears to be unrelated to the first, occurred around 9.55pm yesterday when a man entered the Coles Express service station in Braddon and produced a firearm from a grey backpack and demanded money from the till. The man left the location with a sum of cash and cigarettes and was last seen heading in the direction of Haig Park.

The man is described as being of Caucasian appearance, around 35-40 years old, with blue eyes, light-coloured hair and was unshaven. He was wearing a grey hooded jumper with a zip down the front.

Police are appealing for any witnesses who may have seen suspicious activity around Curtin Place, Curtin, or Mort Street, Braddon, or anyone who may know the identity of the offenders to contact Crime Stoppers.

7. You just can’t trust a man with a motif:

ACT Policing is investigating an attempted aggravated robbery which occurred at the KFC restaurant in Greenway today (November 13).

Around 12.20am a 28-year-old female employee was approached by a man carrying a firearm behind the Reed Street restaurant while she was emptying rubbish into a hopper. The victim ran from the scene to a nearby McDonalds restaurant and called police.

The offender is described as being of a Caucasian appearance with tanned skin, around 165cms (5’5”) tall and with a stocky, muscular build. He was wearing a white mask on his face, a shoulder-length yellow curly wig, dark pants and a black long-sleeved t-shirt with a motif on the front.

Tuggeranong patrols set up road blocks surrounding Greenway while Dog Team members followed a scent along Lake Tuggeranong towards the Tuggeranong Arts Centre.

Police are appealing for any witnesses who may have seen suspicious persons or activity in the vicinity of the KFC restaurant in Greenway to contact to Crime Stoppers.

8. Snatching a grammar girl?

ACT Policing is investigating an incident which occurred outside Canberra Girls Grammar on Melbourne Avenue, Deakin yesterday (November 12).

Around 3.07pm a 12-year-old student was walking out of school to wait for her parents when a white sedan pulled over onto the nature strip in front of her.

As she walked around the vehicle, the male inside the car reached through the driver’s side open window and tried to grab the girl however she avoided his grasp.

The student ran from the area back into the school grounds and called her parents.

The male is described as Caucasian with extremely pale skin, approximately 60 years old, with grey or white short hair, grey eyebrows, dark eyelashes, one days’ growth of grey or white facial hair and he was wearing a dark navy t-shirt.

His vehicle is described as possibly being an older model white Toyota sedan.

Anyone who may know the identity of this man is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

If you can help police contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the website at www.act.crimestoppers.com.au.

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dvaey said :

Why does it seem like these media releases are almost like a journal, rather than a request for assistance. Ive seen numerous times over the past month or two, where police have sought assistance with some event which happened days or weeks earlier.

I’m sure most people are smart enough to call police if they have info about a particular case, with or without a request for assistance.

I love reading the police reports. Best weekly article in here. 😉

stonedwookie6:31 pm 16 Nov 09

@OverreACT
the main thing is no pizza got hurt.
Someone please think of the pizza’s!

Why does it seem like these media releases are almost like a journal, rather than a request for assistance. Ive seen numerous times over the past month or two, where police have sought assistance with some event which happened days or weeks earlier.

OverreACT said :

Surely they would pick a better place than Pizza Hut…. $5.95 pizzas mean that there is not much money at that place!

Not to mention, any place like that, that has young staff working the registers generally doesnt keep much money in the till, so they mightve gotten away with a hundred bucks max, maybe $150 if they took all the coins too, not counting the fact that everyone uses eftpos these days, so most of the nights takings would be in paper receipts anyway.

Surely they would pick a better place than Pizza Hut…. $5.95 pizzas mean that there is not much money at that place!

Off to jail for a few pizzas and some loose change! (once they get caught)

No wonder our magistrates are so busy…..they keep handing down piss-weak sentences to the same offenders week after week.
Surely if someone has 7 previous DUI convictions, then blows over 0.2 again, they are a danger to society. Get them off the streets. Lock them up. You can’t DUI in gaol!

Eight stories in a row that elicited at “WTF?” from me. I’m glad I like spending time at home.

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