Category: Newcastle News

Police have located and charged a man and woman wanted on outstanding warrants in the Hunter Region yesterday.
Following a public appeal for assistance and extensive inquiries into the location of the woman who escaped from Corrective Services NSW custody last month, and a wanted man, officers attached to Port Stephens-Hunter Police District were alerted to the possible location of the pair about 4.45pm yesterday (Wednesday 6 January 2021).
With assistance from the Proactive Crime Team, police attended a home on Richardson Road, Raymond Terrace, where they arrested a 27-year-old woman and 31-year-old man allegedly hiding in a bedroom.
Police located a knife and two sets of car keys allegedly within the man’s backpack.
The man and woman were taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station where they were charged with various offences.
The woman was charged with shoplifting, drive conveyance taken without consent of owner, use class A vehicle with unauthorised number plate affixed, drive unlicensed, and goods in personal custody suspected being stolen (motor vehicle).
The man was charged with shoplifting, drive conveyance taken without consent of owner, use class A vehicle with unauthorised number plate affixed, two counts of drive motor vehicle during disqualification period, possess or use a prohibited weapon without permit, and goods in personal custody suspected being stolen (motor vehicle).
They were both refused bail to appear in Newcastle Local Court today (Thursday 7 January 2021).
Police will allege the woman, a female inmate, escaped from Westmead Hospital at around 10.40am, Wednesday 9 December 2020, with the man – who was wanted on an outstanding warrant for drug and property related offences.
Police will further allege the pair committed various stealing offences, including two cars and alcohol from a bottle shop.

A man will face court today charged with drug and property offences in the Hunter region.
Officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District were conducting patrols of Oyster Cove following reports of a grey utility undertaking dangerous driving behaviour in the area.
Police were driving along Oyster Cove Road when they located a grey Holden ute stopped on the side of the road with two men changing a tyre on the vehicle.
Officers stopped and spoke with two men – aged 20 and 25.
Following further inquiries, police conducted a search of the vehicle where they located methylamphetamine and more than $2,000 in cash – some of the notes were melted together.
The 20-year-old was arrested and taken to Nelson Bay Police Station.
He was charged with supply indictable quantity prohibited drug and deal with the proceeds of crime, as well as a breach of bail offence.
The Lemon Tree Passage man was refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court today (Tuesday 5 January 2021).

City of Newcastle’s water saving action has gained attention, with Hunter Water reporting an impressive 20% reduction in consumption during recent Level 1 and 2 Water Restrictions*, saving in excess of 80 megalitres of precious water and an estimated $220,000.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said City of Newcastle is committed to long-term water efficiency initiatives and maintaining the momentum beyond the impressive results to-date.
“City staff acted quickly and worked collaboratively with Hunter Water and key stakeholders to reduce water consumption across the city, as soon as water restrictions were announced,” said Cr Nelmes.
“Initiatives included minimising irrigation practices at sporting fields, parks and Blackbutt Reserve, installing new rainwater tanks, using surface water catchment ponds at Summerhill Waste Management Centre, and auditing water use at inland pools.
“In addition, the City implemented efficiency strategies such as temporarily ceasing the water intensive annual planting regime at King Edward Park, and installing smart water meters at key sites across the city that track water usage in real time and help identify leaks.
“The City is currently installing new sand pipe infrastructure near Summerhill to access dam and non-potable water for washing down trucks and dust suppression. We will continue to use leak detection measures, improve irrigation practices, use nozzles, limit travelling irrigators, avoid daytime watering where possible, and increase staff awareness of water usage to change behaviours.
“Now that Smart Water Choices have replaced Level 1 Water Restrictions, City of Newcastle will continue to work with Hunter Water to ensure we are leading the way and using water as efficiently as possible, whilst continuing to provide amenity at key sites across the Local Government Area.
“This is an impressive result, but we must not be complacent. Collectively we need to continue to be mindful of our water consumption behaviours on an ongoing basis, particularly over this peak Summer water-usage period.
“We encourage Novocastrians to adopt simple everyday water saving behaviours that they demonstrated during Level 1 Water Restrictions.”
Hunter Water’s Executive Manager Customer Strategy & Retail, Victor Prasad, acknowledged the excellent water saving efforts of City of Newcastle.
“City of Newcastle has achieved a fantastic result and I applaud their ongoing commitment to saving our most precious resource,” said Mr Prasad.
“Hunter Water is grateful to all Councils across our area of operations for working closely with us during the period of water restrictions to drive down water use and encourage everyone to love water.
“We will build on these results to save even more drinking water by exploring opportunities for recycled water schemes to irrigate public open spaces and playing fields.”
*Hunter Water’s Level 1 and 2 Water Restrictions were in effect between September 2019 to 1 October 2020.

Police are appealing for public assistance after a man was assaulted in the Hunter region at the weekend.
About 11.30am on Saturday 2 January 2021, a 56-year-old man was walking along Curlew Avenue, Hawks Nest, when he was approached by two unknown men.
Police have been told one of the men grabbed the 56-year-old by the shoulder and demanded he hand over his wallet before punching him in the face, while the second man stood nearby.
The man fell to the ground while the first man continued to assault him.
A short time later, a passing motorist stopped to render assistance as the unknown men fled the scene.
The bystander assisted the 56-year-old, who sustained minor injuries which did not require hospital treatment.
Officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District were notified yesterday (Sunday 3 January 2021) and commenced inquiries.
The men are both described as being of Caucasian appearance, aged in their early 30s, between 170cm-180cm tall, with slim builds and short dark hair.
The first man is further described as having facial stubble and missing a number of teeth.
Police are also appealing for the male motorist who stopped to render assistance to come forward, as he may be able to assist police with their inquiries.

A man has been charged over an alleged stabbing at Newcastle earlier today.
About 10am (Sunday 3 January 2021), emergency services were called to a unit complex on Pitt Street, Stockton, following reports of a fight between two men who were known to each other.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District attended and found a 58-year-old man with a minor stab wound to the shoulder.
He was treated by paramedics before being taken to John Hunter Hospital for treatment.
A 40-year-old man was arrested in a neighbouring unit and taken to hospital for treatment to head and knee lacerations.
Upon release, he was taken to Waratah Police Station where he was charged with reckless wounding.
The Stockton man was refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court tomorrow (Monday 4 January 2021).

Police are appealing for assistance from the public after a man was assaulted at Lake Macquarie.
Between 1215am and 12.30am this morning (Friday 1 January 2021), a man, aged 52 was walking home when he was assaulted at Feighan Oval, Warners bay.
Police have been told the man was approached by a group of six males before allegedly being pushed to the ground and assaulted.
As the group fled down John Street, Warners Bay, an unknown woman walking her dog heard the man and provided assistance before his friend arrived.
Officers attached to Lake Macquarie were notified on the incident later that day and commenced inquiries.
After speaking with the man, police transferened him to Belmont Hospital for treatment.
Police are appealing for assistance form the public to identify the males involved and the woman who rendered assistance to the man.
The six males are described as being of Caucasian appearance, aged in their late teens to early twenties, and were all dressed in dark clothing at the time of the incident.
Inquiries are continuing.

Two police officers have been injured in a head-on collision in Newcastle this morning.
About 1.30am (Friday 1 January 2021), emergency services were called to Brunker Road, near South Street, Adamstown, after a marked police vehicle travelling south and a Volvo travelling north collided in the southbound lanes.
The driver, a female constable, and her passenger, a female senior constable, sustained bruising and arm injuries.
The officers were both taken to John Hunter Hospital; however, they have since been released.
Two civilian passengers were also in the police vehicle at the time of the crash. The women were assessed by paramedics at the scene, however, did not require further treatment.
The Ford driver and sole-occupant, a 56-year-old woman, was trapped for a short time. She was released and taken to John Hunter Hospital for treatment of non life-threatening injuries and mandatory testing.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Inquiries are continuing.

A man has been charged with dangerous driving after another man was seriously injured in Newcastle last week.
Shortly before 8pm on Tuesday 22 December 2020, three men left a home on Scholey Street, Mayfield, and got into a BMW sedan.
Police have been told the 18-year-old driver and a 20-year-old passenger got into a verbal argument before the older man exited the vehicle and returned inside.
The BMW left the scene before returning a short time later, where police will allege the 20-year-old climbed onto the bonnet of the moving vehicle before the vehicle turned onto Valencia Street and he fell to the roadway.
Police will further allege the driver did not stop to render assistance and continued along Valencia Street.
Passers-by contacted emergency services a short time later.
The man was taken to John Hunter Hospital where he remains in a critical condition.
Officers from the Hunter Crash Investigation Unit attended and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Following extensive inquiries, an 18-year-old man attended Cessnock Police Station about 3pm on Monday (28 December 2020) where he was arrested and charged with four offences including dangerous and negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and fail to stop and assist after vehicle impact causing grievous bodily harm.
The Kearsley man was granted conditional bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court on Thursday 25 February 2021.
Investigations are ongoing.