An elderly couple was driving luxury vehicles in broad daylight in a fit of road rage, a court was told.
Raymond Edwards, 70, and his wife Barbara Edwards, 70, pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday to intentional damage.
The pair were charged after they were caught on camera tampering with luxury cars at Brisbane’s north Brookside shopping center in Mitchelton in October last year.
Footage from the damaged Tesla’s onboard cameras, which was first obtained by 7News, shows the pair weaving between parked cars before tampering with the electric car in an attempt to cause damage.
The court was told Mr Edwards had also locked a white BMW parked next to the Tesla.
An elderly husband and wife who stole cars from a northern shopping center have hit out at the media as they faced court. 7NEWS Australia
Police prosecutor Sergeant Josh Kelly said officers had received quotes for damage to each vehicle, which amounted to $2,443.61 (about $1,609) for the BMW and $1,794.51 (about $1,181) for the Tesla.
Sgt Kelly asked the couple to pay the repair costs despite the possibility that the car’s owners had insurance.
Raymond and Barbara Edwards were caught on Tesla camera vandalizing the vehicles. 7NEWS Australia
“It’s like this for some reason, there has been some kind of disagreement with road users and the defendants have taken matters into their own hands and violated the laws indiscriminately,” he said.
“Given the circumstances, it is appropriate to order the restitution of said amounts regardless of whether the people have insurance or not.
“The community at large suffers if we rely on insurance to cover the costs.”
The couple appeared to have had a disagreement with the car’s owners. 7NEWS Australia
Representing both Edwards in court, defense lawyer Bruce Peters said his clients had apologized for the harm they caused.
He explained that his outburst was a direct result of an earlier incident in which a white Tesla and a white BMW allegedly “ran them off the road and nearly forced them into a power pole” about a half-mile from the Brookside shopping center.
“Once they regained their composure, they continued toward the Brookside Mall and, lo and behold, the two cars they thought were blocking their path (a white BMW and a white Tesla) were parked side by side,” Peters said. saying.
The Tesla and white BMW allegedly cut the couple off that same day. 7NEWS Australia
“They took out their frustrations on the cars.”
The couple were each given a good behavior bond of $500 (US$330) for 12 months.
Mr Edwards was ordered to pay $2,443.61 ($1,608) in restitution for the damage caused to the Tesla and the BMW, while Ms Edwards was ordered to pay the remaining $897.25 ($590) for Tesla repair work.
No convictions were recorded.
Leaving the court, the couple were protected by their family and friends with umbrellas in a bid to avoid being photographed after they claimed to have been harassed on social media following the publication of the video of the damaged cars.
In court, Peters said a rock had allegedly been thrown at his clients’ home and they had been “vilified” online since the video went viral.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn