Two Illawarra men will remain behind bars until at least April accused of ramming a stolen vehicle into a police car in a bid to avoid arrest following a series of early morning break-ins at local businesses.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Police allege Mount Keira parolee Brandon Gee, 23, and 19-year-old Dylan Ison, from Warrawong, went on a break-and-enter “rampage” in the early hours of Saturday morning, hitting up four shops between Dapto, Shellharbour and Warilla in less than 40 minutes.
Court documents allege the pair stole a Nissan Pathfinder from a house in Wollongong overnight then headed to Dapto Domino’s around 5.30am.
Armed with a sledgehammer, they allegedly forced their way inside, causing $10,000 worth of damage to the front counter before making off with a cash register containing about $200.
Police claim Gee and Ison then headed to Cash Converters in the Shellharbour city centre and ransacked the shop, taking $20,000 worth of stock and causing $5,000 in damage.
They then moved onto the Warilla Bing Lee, but were unable to gain entry to the building, court documents said.
Instead, the pair allegedly turned their attention to Ocean Storm Fishing and Tackle next door. Police say the duo rammed the stolen Nissan into the rear roller door to gain entry.
It is alleged CCTV cameras captured the pair’s “rampage” inside, which racked up a $25,000 damage bill.
Meantime, police arrived on the scene and used their vehicles to block off the carpark exit, allegedly prompting Gee to ram the Nissan into one of the police cars, rendering it undriveable.
Police say Gee then drove at speed through a set of metal gates, flinging them into the nearby McDonald’s car park.
Police pursued the Nissan along Shellharbour Road but terminated the chase when the vehicle began driving on the wrong side of the road. The car was found abandoned in Sophia Street a short time later.
A police dog was brought in to track the two men. They were discovered a short time later inside the Shell Cove marina construction area.
It is alleged they had discarded several of the stolen items as well as their clothes as they ran from police.
Ison was treated in hospital for a dog bite to the thigh.
Both men had their respective bail applications refused in Wollongong Local Court on Monday, with Magistrate Mark Douglass saying allegations the pair had driven through metal gates at 60km/hr was something “you would expect to see only in the movies”.
Their cases were adjourned to April 4.