A man will face court today after allegedly trying to steal cars by threatening drivers with a scalpel in Newcastle.
Newcastle City Police say at about 5:50pm yesterday, a 26-year-old man was in his vehicle parked on Beaumont Street, Hamilton when another man opened the driver side door and demanded he get out.
It’s alleged the man dragged the driver from the car, there was a brief struggle and the offender stabbed the driver in the chest with a scalpel.
The driver managed to grab his car keys from the ignition before the other men fled.
A short time later, the man allegedly robbed a chemist demanding cash and stealing drinks.
He didn’t stop there, in a third incident he opened the passenger side door of a white Ford Kuga that was sitting at the intersection of Tudor and Beaumont Streets and allegedly threatened the 33-year-old female driver with a scalpel.
The woman, who had two young children in the vehicle, circled the block before the man attempted to undo one of the child’s restraints.
She pulled over and took her children out before the man fled in her car.
An hour later officers attached to the Hunter Region Enforcement Squad noticed the white car on Darby Street at Cooks Hill – they put on lights and sirens but the driver failed to stop and they pursued the vehicle through Merewether before the car was finally stopped at Flowerdale Avenue.