A trip to get a chicken dinner turned into a nightmare for a Seville Grove resident on July 14 after a violent suspected carjacking in the Kelmscott CBD.
About 8pm, Luke Skinner, 29, turned into the car park on Albany Highway opposite Denny Avenue on his way to get dinner when he decided to stop to check his phone.
When he looked up there was a man walking towards his car who asked him what he was doing.
Mr Skinner told the man he was checking his phone and getting dinner and he started walking away but came back brandishing a large adjustable spanner.
“He took another couple of steps back towards the window where I was and pointed at me with a 14 or 16-inch adjustable spanner and said to me ‘don’t f#@k with me mate’ in a really aggressive tone,” he said.
“At that point I was like, whoa hang on, I put my hands up, I’m just going to get some chicken.”
The man walked away and whistled to another man waiting nearby on a dirt bike before he then charged at the car.
“I took off down the car park with him running full speed and swinging the spanner behind my car, at that point I noticed there was the motorbike following along the footpath,” he said.
“I got to the last entry onto Albany Highway in the car park near the IGA by avoiding cars moving about in the car park with the guy and the motorbike chasing me.
“The motorbike actually caught up to me and ran into my car and he fell off the bike.
“He left a dent on my car.”
Mr Skinner exited onto Albany Highway but was slowed down by the man wielding the spanner.
“He smashed my car with the spanner, not satisfied because he didn’t break the window he kept running alongside my car and smashed the back window, at which point I took off down the road at speed,” he said.
Mr Skinner was shocked, shaken up and scared but realised it could have ended much worse.
He said the incident highlighted the need for a 24-hour police station in Armadale because if the two continued to chase him the only station open was 25 minutes away in Cannington.
Armadale officer in charge Senior Sergeant Glenn Spencer said the incident was still under investigation and they had to collect more information to determine whether it was an attempted vehicle theft.
“We’ve been canvassing the businesses nearby to try and get some CCTV,” he said.
“If anyone was witness to it they would be encouraged to contact Armadale team three.”
He said incidents like this were rare and it was a concern when violence was used against anyone.
