The thief who stole tennis star Nick Kyrgios’ lime green Tesla has been revealed to be a serial criminal who hit and killed a student during a police chase 20 years ago.
The 33-year-old pleaded guilty on Friday to a single charge of committing robbery while armed with an offensive weapon.
This is the same person who was driving a stolen car on July 30, 2005, when it hit 21-year-old college student Clea Rose, it reports. The Canberra Times. He cannot be identified because he was 14 years old at the time.
Rose, a keen traveler who had just returned from her studies abroad, had entered Mort Street in Civic when the car, which was speeding to avoid the police, hit her.
The driver did not stop and sadly Mrs Rose died in hospital from brain injuries around 20 days later.
Tennis ace Nick Kyrgios, 28, with his lime green Tesla (pictured) which was stolen in May last year. Kyrgios helped police track it using the Tesla app that also limited the car’s speed.
The driver was sentenced to three years in prison with probation after 18 months on multiple charges, including culpable driving resulting in death.
He was jailed again in 2012 after a series of robberies and thefts between 2009 and 2010.
Police stopped him after he stole a Mazda3 from a property in Campbell, failed to yield at an intersection and crashed into a car carrying a mother and her two elementary school-aged children. No one was seriously injured.
Judge John Burns noted that Rose’s death did not appear to have produced a “lasting commitment to change.”
College student Clea Rose, 21, was trapped by a stolen car in Civic in 2005 and sadly died.
Mrs. Rose was a great traveler who had just returned from studying abroad. The University of Canberra has created the Clea Rose Travel Award in her honour.
He was imprisoned until September 2017 with a non-parole period until January 2015.
The facts about the latest charge have not yet been agreed, but previous court documents show that police alleged that Kyrgios’ mother had responded to a knock on her door at around 8.30am on May 1, 2023.
She was allegedly confronted by a man holding a “long barrel” gun and demanded the keys to the Tesla parked outside before leaving.
Nick Kyrgios, who was staying at the house, and his manager called the police and then used the Tesla app on his phone to track the car.
They were also able to limit the speed of the car to 80 km/h to help the police follow it.
Police arrested the man in Ainslie at around 9am
The thief had originally pleaded not guilty to the charge, but changed his plea on Friday in the ACT Supreme Court.
Judge Louise Taylor adjourned the case to appear before the Drug and Alcohol Sentencing List next month.
