Brazen way eshays managed to allegedly steal mining CEO’s Maserati and take it for a joyride – as their sneaky method of getting through her beachside mansion is revealed
- Eshays allegedly used very unusual method to break into house
- Woodside head Meg O’Neill and her family were home at the time
Four men accused of stealing a mining company CEO’s $150,000 Maserati allegedly used a very unusual method to get inside her beachside mansion.
The men allegedly crawled through a doggy door built into the Perth home of Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill, located in the city’s exclusive City Beach suburb.
They then allegedly took off their eshay-style sneakers before breaking into the house in order to keep quiet.
Ms O’Neill and her family were home at the time.
Details of how the alleged robbery took place were revealed as one of the accused men, 31-year-old Adam Dion Prior, was refused bail, the West Australian reported.
Perth Magistrates Court heard Prior, who was on parole for other offences at the time, arrived at Ms O’Neill’s mansion at around 11.30pm on January 10 with three others in another luxury car they’re also accused of stealing.
Four men accused of stealing a mining company CEO’s Maserati allegedly used a very unusual and brazen method of getting into her beachside mansion
A police prosecutor told the court the group parked across the street from the house and then went to the property and removed their footwear.
They are then accused of crawling through the doggy door and allegedly stealing the keys to a blue Maserati sports car and a $60,000 Jeep Cherokee.
Some of the alleged co-offenders later posed for a picture in front of one of the cars while wearing eshay-style sports gear and putting their middle finger up.
Three men – aged 30, 27 and 24 – were initially arrested and charged with burglary and theft.
The Jeep Cherokee was allegedly involved in a pursuit with police the next morning, which ended in a crash with the police car at around 11.49am, the court heard.
Prior was allegedly driving the Jeep Cherokee when it crashed with the police vehicle.
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill (pictured) and her family were at home at the time
The Maserati was found abandoned on the Kwinana Freeway in Baldivis, 45km south of Perth, soon after.
Prior’s lawyer Emma Bradley applied for bail for her client, telling the court he denied any involvement in the break-in and car thefts and that identity would also be an issue.
Ms Bradley said that even if her client was convicted of driving recklessly, the amount of jail time he would get would be less than the time it would take for the matter to go to trial.
She said a bail support plan had been put in place with the Outcare reintegration service, which would support Prior if he got home detention bail.
The police prosecutor opposed bail, telling the court Prior had a ‘history of violence towards police’, an ‘unwillingness’ to follow court orders and ‘non-compliance’ issues.
Chief Magistrate Steven Heath said while Ms Bradley’s comments about the time it would take for the case to go to trial were relevant, they did not warrant bail being granted.
Police have accused four men of burglary and the theft of a Maserati and Jeep Cherokee from the City Beach home of Woodside Energy CEO Meg O’Neill (pictured)
In January, WA Police Force Commissioner Col Blanch pushed back on the eshay stereotype and said police were focusing on criminal activity and not what criminals wore.
‘People who choose to be criminals or commit crime, that’s what I care about,’ he told 6PR radio.
‘I don’t care what you look like, but I’m coming after you if you commit (an alleged) crime.’
Prior is due to appear in court again in May.
