Police are investigating a series of linked robberies and car thefts in Townsville today, Queensland Police say.
Around 7am, a 57-year-old man was getting out of his car to open the front gate of his home on Second Street in Railway Estate when he was approached by four males who attempted to steal it.
When he refused to hand over his keys, he was kicked and punched by the group before they stole his mobile phone and fled the scene in the Toyota Camry they had arrived in, which was stolen in Cairns overnight.
The man’s car was not stolen during the incident.
He was transported to Townsville Hospital with serious injuries including multiple fractures.
A short time later, the group attended an address in Minaret Way in Mount Louisa where they attempted to gain entry but were unsuccessful. They did, however, use a sling shot to damage the front window.
Around 11am, the car then entered the drive through of a bottle shop on Bayswater Road at Garbutt.
The front and rear passenger-side occupants got out and stole $880 worth of alcohol.
The driver threatened to assault a staff member if he approached them.
The car then fled the scene towards Idalia.
Around 11.30am, the car pulled up near a home on Sanctuary Drive.
One of the occupants got out and entered the home via the open garage door.
He walked into the home, taking a handbag containing the keys to the car parked in the garage.
When a woman who was inside the home heard the car start, she walked out.
It was then that she was threatened by someone in the Camry, who presented a knife out of the window and swore at her.
She went back inside her home and the vehicle in the garage – a white Toyota Landcruiser – was stolen.
Multiple crews followed the vehicles throughout the afternoon.
Around 1.25pm, officers from the Rapid Action and Patrol Group attempted to intercept the Landcruiser.
After the vehicle failed to stop, a pursuit was authorised and officers followed the vehicle for approximately ten kilometres before police lost sight of the it near Banfield Lane at Kirwan.
The Toyota Camry was located empty in Kallanda Street in Mount Louisa around 1.15pm.
Anyone who may have information about these incidents is urged to contact police.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using the online form 24hrs per day.
You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers.
