Man accused of blowing up couple’s car got their address by catfishing them with pic of blonde girl

A man who allegedly blew up a couple’s car after they beeped at his girlfriend at a McDonald’s drive-thru used a picture of a blonde woman to catfish the pair into giving him their address, police claim. 

Ryan Sharp, 33, began the alleged lengthy intimidation campaign against the couple after his girlfriend was beeped by the couple to stop her from reversing into another car on February 22. 

The alleged harassment culminated in a March 5 incident, during which police claim Mr Sharp used an improvised explosive device to bomb the victims’ car as it sat in the driveway of their home in the Illawarra region. 

Mr Sharp obtained the couple’s address after contacting them about a mattress they were selling online using a face Facebook profile picturing a bubbly blonde woman, according to court documents obtained by news.com.au. 

Court documents allege Mr Sharp’s partner followed the couple’s car for 15 minutes after the beeping incident – taking a photo of their car and license plate. 

She then made a complaint at a Wollongong police station, where she obtained the driver’s name. 

Later that day, police claim she and Mr Sharp located the man’s Facebook profile. 

After obtaining the address, Mr Sharp allegedly visited the couple’s house the next day and smashed their car windows with a baseball bat.   

Ryan Sharp was arrested on Tuesday at a petrol station near Wollongong – south of Sydney – after allegedly blowing up a couple’s car who honked at his partner 

Mr Sharp’s partner, aged 31, was also arrested on Tuesday at her Lake Heights home 

Police claim this began an intimidation and harassment campaign that included death threats. 

‘I’m going to set your car on fire in a few hours then I’m going to rape you sl*t and make that c**k sucker watch both of you have made a big mistake,’ Mr Sharp wrote, according to documents. 

The accused was refused bail at Wollongong Local Court on Thursday, two days after he was arrested.  

Appearing via video link, the fridge repairman cried throughout the brief hearing and mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to his mother and sister who were in the courtroom.

Magistrate Michael Stoddart rejected Mr Sharp’s bail application due to the ‘grave’ nature of the crimes he is alleged to have committed – as well as the risk he could communicate with witnesses. 

If someone had been in the car the blast could have killed them, police said on Wednesday. 

In making a bail application, Mr Sharp’s defence lawyer said her client had been living with, and caring for, his grandmother since 2017.

Family members were concerned the cancer survivor’s health would deteriorate if Mr Sharp was held in custody, she said. 

He was charged with a range of offences, including two counts of use of carriage service to threaten serious harm, two counts of stalk/intimidate intend fear physical harm

Mr Sharp applied for bail, saying he had to take care of his sick grandmother but it was refused 

But police prosecutor Sergeant Tanya Pavlin said surveillance of Mr Sharp in the lead-up to his arrest suggested this wasn’t the case.

‘He is not there 24/7, caring for his grandmother … he was only there on a handful of occasions over a number of weeks,’ she said.

Mr Sharp and his 31-year-old girlfriend are due to reappear at Wollongong Local Court on May 22.

She was earlier granted strict conditional bail after being charged with stalking and being an accessory after the fact.

It’s alleged the ordeal started after a woman honked at Mr Sharp’s girlfriend (pictured)