Man with flower pot on head wielded chainsaw during robbery

Police in South-East Queensland, Australia have charged a 19-year-old man following an armed robbery at a service station in Flinders View, Ipswich at around 4.30am on Monday morning.



Wielding a chainsaw which was running at the time, the man lunged at the store attendants, who retreated into a back room. Police allege the man then used the chainsaw to damage a window and several display racks in the shop, before exposing his buttocks to the store attendants.

It is alleged the man made demands for money, but left the store only with a bottle of soft drink and the chainsaw. He is accused of damaging a parked vehicle upon fleeing the scene. A police officer en route to the service station noticed the suspect walking down the street shortly after the incident.



He was placed under arrest. Members of the dog squad then followed a trail back to the service station and located the allegedly stolen chainsaw in bush not far from the scene. Leichhardt teenager Steven Frank Steele was later charged with one count of armed robbery, two counts of wilful damage, one count of going armed to cause fear, one count of public nuisance and one count of possessing suspected stolen property.