A Western Australian father, clad only in SpongeBob SquarePants underwear, helped his sons subdue an alleged car thief outside their home in Bindoon, about 70km north of Perth. The incident occurred just after 7am on Tuesday when the man's 10-year-old daughter spotted someone tampering with the family car.
Dean Bathurst, 57, rushed outside in his yellow SpongeBob jocks and engaged in a 10-minute struggle with the suspect. “It was probably a good 10-minute wrestle around on the ground, trying to get him in a position where we could stop him from hurting us, or hurting him, or running away,” he told 9News.
His sons joined the fray, with Brooklyn, who weighs 120kg, lying across the man's legs and lower back to keep him pinned. The family held the suspect for about half an hour until police arrived. “I’m 120 kilos, so he wasn’t moving as I lied across his legs and his lower back, and just tried to hold out,” Brooklyn said.
Police allege the 31-year-old man began his crime spree around 3:30am, targeting a woman reversing from her driveway in Gosnells. He allegedly forced his way into her vehicle while appearing armed with a gun and indecently assaulted her. He then drove to Bindoon, broke into a home, and stole another car before being caught.
The man has been charged with armed robbery, deprivation of liberty, unlawful and indecent assault, and stealing two vehicles. Reflecting on the ordeal, Mr Bathurst joked, “I might actually go to bed dressed a bit better than my SpongeBob jocks from now on. Good thing I wasn’t wearing my Superman jocks, because that could have been a completely different situation.”
