Three bush camp residents have been spared further jail time after forcing five space base engineers to bury a dog believed to have been killed by a hire car in remote Australia.
Luke Doyel Drummond has been sentenced to 18 months jail, released immediately on parole. The three people who ambushed, threatened, and deprived of liberty three space base engineers have pleaded guilty.
What's next?abc.net.au/news/cape-york-peninsula-rocket-space-base-engineers-attack-sentence/106652366Three bush camp residents have been released from jail after threatening the lives of five space engineers and forcing them to bury a dog during a remote Australian "ambush". Cairns District Court heard Darryl Roy Mitchell, 64, Luke Doyel Drummond, 36, and Tamara Jo McLean, 28, pleaded guilty in court to several counts each of going armed so as to cause fear, depriving the engineers of their liberty, and threatening to kill them while they drove through a bush camp on Queensland's Cape York Peninsula.
The court heard the offenders accused the engineers, who were not named in court apart from an Alan Temling who provided a victim impact statement, of running over and killing their dog, Cardy, after driving through their camp near Weipa earlier that day on January 23, 2025. ABC News: Christopher TestaCrown prosecutor Hannah McNeale told the court the trio created a roadblock with a car and trailer to prevent the engineers leaving the site, which they were visiting for a proposed space rocket project.
She said as the engineers sat inside the vehicle, the trio stood beside the car holding an axe, bat, and pole while McLean used a rock to damage the car. Ms McNeale said Drummond demanded $10,000 and the burial of the dog as recompense for allegedly killing it.
A video — filmed by one of the engineers sitting in the back seat of the car — was played to the court, in which an interaction was heard between Drummond and the driver, who said his name was Michael.
"I'm not getting out of the car because he's holding an axe and a machete,"Hannah McNeale says the offending was an ambush. "The number of dogs and the speed at which they came, even though we were in a car, I was a little bit intimidated by it,""I just maintained my speed and kept going. If I ran over one of the dogs, I definitely did not know.
" The driver was heard saying in the video that he would have stopped if he had known he had hit Cardy, who the court heard had three-week-old puppies. Judge Dean Morzone imposed jail sentences for Mitchell and McLean of 15 months each and 18 months for Drummond, but released them immediately on supervised parole, taking into account several months already served. Judge Morzone said each of the trio had a criminal history and adverse backgrounds.
Judge Morzone said Drummond was a devoted stepfather and carer who had experienced abuse and loss, McLean was a former elite swimmer who overcame an abusive relationship and Mitchell was a lifelong bushman and farm worker. Judge Morzone said.
"It's unfortunate that it's come through here in a way that has hurt other people, who are simply carrying out their lives. "
Far North Queensland Fnq Marlin Coast Tropical Queensland Lameroo Parilla Weipa ELA Space Travel Michael Jones Bush Sites
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Grim, worse and dire: the three ways Donald Trump is playing havoc with Reserve Bank forecastsDonald Trump is not living rent-free in the heads of central bankers. He’s ratching up rents like the New York property tycoon he was, creating pandemonium and pain.
Read more »
Grim, worse and dire: the three ways Donald Trump is playing havoc with Reserve Bank forecastsDonald Trump is not living rent-free in the heads of central bankers. He’s ratching up rents like the New York property tycoon he was, creating pandemonium and pain.
Read more »
A three-hour flight to an island showed me I’d been doing holidays wrongI was overdue for a break and needed some rest and relaxation. Instead I did the exact opposite – an action-packed itinerary that revitalised me.
Read more »
Bathers’ Pavilion’s next three-Michelin-starred residency may be the ‘meal of the year’The Mosman restaurant is going all out for SingleThread’s upcoming residency, from custom ceramics to more than 20,000 flower bulbs planted for the $690 menu.
Read more »
A three-hour flight to an island showed me I’d been doing holidays wrongI was overdue for a break and needed some rest and relaxation. Instead I did the exact opposite – an action-packed itinerary that revitalised me.
Read more »
Search Suspended for Missing Hiker in Cape Breton Highlands National ParkThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have suspended their search for Denise Ann Williams, a 62-year-old woman who went missing in mid-April while hiking alone in the rugged Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Despite extensive search efforts involving dogs, aircraft, and ground crews, no new information has been found. The park’s challenging terrain, including steep cliffs and dense forests, has complicated the search. This incident follows a previous fatal coyote attack in the same park in 2009.
Read more »