A Gold Coast man has made headlines after exposing a would-be thief while… exposed.
David Rutherford, a jiu-jitsu aficionado, told 7News Gold Coast that on Wednesday night he heard a sound outside his Burleigh home. Rutherford raced outside to find the source of the sound, not even stopping to dress himself. What he found was a very rude shock: a 15-year-old boy attempting to steal his car.
Speaking to 7News Gold Coast, Rutherford said, “I was asleep and I heard someone rummaging through my car. I heard someone start [the] car and reverse. He hit the gutter here and then stalled it.
“I went to go in [the] front of the car – I didn’t have any time to put clothes on because I sleep naked – and then he started it and went to go forward but stalled it.”
News.com.au reports that Rutherford used his jiu-jitsu skills to ensure the teen was effectively removed from the car and kept at bay while he worked out what to do. Rutherford then took the teen inside his home, so he could put pants on, before giving the teen a verbal dressing down.
In the home security camera footage of the incident, the teen is heard saying, “Please let me go, I’ll do anything, I promise.” The footage also shows Rutherford searching the teen’s pockets, finding many sets of car keys and licences.
“I ended up letting him go,” Rutherford said. “I don’t know what people will think about that. But I wanted to go back to sleep. I was tired. I think he learned a lesson.
“I like to sleep comfortably. I didn’t have time and I wanted my car back,” he added.
Queensland is experiencing a major spate of crime, with youth crime becoming more and more prevalent and carjacking becoming an everyday occurrence.
Earlier this year, a young couple pregnant with their first child were struck and killed in a hit-and-run in the outer Brisbane suburb of Alexandra Hills.
In response, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a firm tightening of restrictions on youth bail laws. While the result of these tightened laws is yet to be seen, it’s case clothed for this Gold Coast news story.