Knife-wielding thieves steal a woman’s car – before asking for her address so they can return it after they’ve been for a joyride
- A pair of thieves have been jailed after stealing a woman’s car in Queensland
- Owen Carpenter and Casey Nute approached woman in shopping car park
- Carpenter threatened the helpless victim with a knife and stole her car
- The pair were found with the help of a social media post showing the vehicle
Two thieves who stole a woman’s car at knifepoint during a drug-fuelled rampage and asked for her address to return the vehicle have been jailed.
Owen Kenneth Matthew Carpenter, 20, and Tory Casey Nute, 18, approached a 23-year-old woman in CastleTown Shopping Centre car park in Townsville, Queensland about 6.30pm on March 18.
The woman was loading her shopping bags into the car when the pair approached her and asked to use her phone to call for a taxi.
When the woman refused, Carpenter stepped towards her and lifted his shirt to reveal a kitchen knife tucked into his pants.
Owen Kenneth Matthew Carpenter, 20, threatened a woman with a knife and stole her car
He told the victim to ‘give me the keys’, crown prosecutor Amanda Payne told the court, Courier Mail reported.
The helpless woman handed over the keys to Carpenter who then handed them to Nute and told her to drive.
Before leaving the car park, he asked the woman for her address so they could return her vehicle later that night.
The woman took to social media to tell her followers that her car was stolen and to help keep an eye out for it.
About 9pm that night, a man responded to the post saying he spotted Nute holding a knife outside the window of the passenger side of the car.
The man followed the duo to the IGA supermarket in Kirwan and called the police, who arrested the pair, the court heard.
Carpenter and Tory Casey Nute, 18, approached a 23-year-old woman in CastleTown Shopping Centre car park (pictured) in Queensland about 6.30pm on March 18
Carpenter pleaded guilty to nine charges including one count armed robbery in company, one count going armed so as to cause fear and one count unlawful use of a motor vehicle, Courier Mail reported.
Nute pleaded guilty to six charges including one count robbery armed in company and one count unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
Carpenter’s defence barrister Harvey Walters told the court that his client suffered from anxiety and depression.
He issued the court with an apology letter from Carpenter who blamed his actions on his ‘heavy drug addiction’.
Nute’s defence barrister Dane Marley, told the court that her client was four months pregnant at the time of the theft and did not have an extensive criminal history.
Carpenter was sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ jail while Nute was sentenced to two-and-a-half years’ jail.