Shock revelation about man who stole tennis star Nick Kyrgios’ lime green Tesla at gunpoint
A robber who stole tennis star Nick Kyrgios’ lime green Tesla turns out to be a serial criminal who struck 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 a robbery while armed with an offensive weapon.
He is the same person who was driving a stolen car when he struck 21-year-old college student Clea Rose on July 30, 2005, reports The Canberra Times. He cannot be named as he was 14 years old at the time.
Ms Rose, an avid traveler who had just returned from studying abroad, had stepped onto Mort Street in Civic when the car, speeding to avoid police, hit her.
The driver did not stop and Mrs Rose sadly died in hospital from brain injuries about twenty days later.
Tennis star Nick Kyrgios, 28, with his lime green Tesla (pictured) that was stolen in May last year. Kyrgios helped police track the car using the Tesla app, which also limited the car’s speed
The driver was sentenced after 18 months to a three-year prison term with parole on multiple charges, including guilty driving causing death.
He was jailed again in 2012 after a spate of burglaries and thefts between 2009 and 2010.
Police arrested him after he stole a Mazda3 from a property in Campbell, failed to yield the right of way at an intersection and hit a car carrying a mother and her two primary school-age children. No one was seriously injured.
Judge John Burns noted that Ms Rose’s death did not appear to have produced a ‘lasting commitment to change’.
University student Clea Rose, 21, was trapped in a stolen car in Civic in 2005 and sadly died
Ms. Rose was an avid traveler and had just returned from studying abroad. The University of Canberra established the Clea Rose Travel Award in her honour
He was imprisoned until September 2017, with a non-parole period until January 2015.
The facts surrounding the latest charge have yet to be cleared, but previous court documents show that police alleged that Mr Kyrgios’ mother had knocked on her door at around 8.30am on May 1, 2023.
She was reportedly confronted by a man holding a long-barreled gun and demanded the keys to the Tesla parked outside before driving away.
Nick Kyrgios, who was staying at the house, and his manager called police and later used the Tesla app on his phone to track the car.
They were also able to limit the car’s speed to 80 km/h so that police could track it.
Police arrested the man in Ainslie at around 9am.
The robber had initially pleaded not guilty to the charge, but changed his plea in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday.
Judge Louise Taylor adjourned the case to appear before the Drug and Alcohol Sentencing List next month.