Australia: Ryan Sharp to remain in jail in Wollongong after ‘benign’ altercation culminated in alleged ‘grievance-fuelled violence’
A man who allegedly blew up a family’s car after his partner was beeped at in a McDonald’s drive-thru will remain behind bars after not applying for bail in Wollongong local court on Wednesday.
Ryan Sharp, a 33-year-old from the Illawarra region, south of Sydney, faces a suite of charges over what police allege was a prolonged campaign of stalking and harassment after his partner, a 31-year-old woman, was beeped at a 24-hour McDonald’s on 22 February.
Police allege that the “relatively minor” and “benign” altercation between a couple and the 31-year-old woman set off a campaign of “grievance-fuelled violence” including online threats and a smashed window.
It culminated in Sharp – who was not present during the McDonald’s altercation – detonating a “sophisticated” explosive device in the car of the couple who “beeped” his wife in the early hours of 5 March.
“The work done by this male to identify where the victim lived was quite ingenious and indicated a specific intent,” counter-terrorism and special tactics command’s Det Supt Michael McLean said on Tuesday.
“He located the victims’ home, [and] we will allege, placed the device under the car where it ultimately exploded sometime later.”
The explosion, which McLean said could have killed someone if they had been in the car, came after a “benign” altercation.
“[It was] certainly not something that would constitute behaviour which we’ve seen over the last month,” he said.
Sharp was arrested at a BP service station on Tuesday before police uncovered a pipe bomb, drone and baton.
He was charged with two counts of using a carriage service to threaten serious harm, using a carriage service to threaten to kill, destroying or damaging property, placing an explosive on a vehicle with the intent to cause harm, threatening to cause injury to a person for being a witness and two counts of possessing or use of prohibited weapon without permit.
He appeared in Wollongong local court but did not apply for bail. He will return to court on Thursday for a possible bail application to be made.
His 31-year-old partner was also arrested and taken to Wollongong police station where she was charged with being an accessory after the fact to destroying or damaging property and stalking or intimidating.
She was granted strict conditional bail and is due to appear at Wollongong local court on Wednesday 22 May.
The fixated persons investigations unit – a specialist squad set up in 2017 to target potential would-be terrorists or lone actors – helped investigate the pair.
