Four teenagers have been charged with stealing Australian rugby union star James O’Connor’s car after a police chase which ended at an inner Brisbane shopping centre.

The three boys and a girl, aged 14-15, are facing multiple charges after Wallabies and Queensland Reds player O’Connor’s white Land Rover was allegedly stolen from an Auchenflower home on Monday.

Watch the video above

The teens then allegedly used the car to speed through Brisbane’s south on Tuesday when police spotted it in Inala.

It was tracked by police helicopter on the Logan Motorway to Larapinta about 2.30pm.

“The vehicle was tracked as it continued to allegedly be driven dangerously throughout local streets and suburbs, travelling through red lights,” police said in a statement.

They allegedly drove into the car park at Toowong Village in Brisbane’s inner-west, from where they are accused of ditching the vehicle and making a run for the train station.

“A short foot pursuit commenced and the four were taken into custody without incident,” police said.

They have been charged with one count each of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, burglary and commit and indictable offence and receiving tainted property.

They are expected to face the Brisbane Children’s Court on a later date.

O’Connor, a veteran of 52 tests, is the second Brisbane-based sports star to have his car stolen allegedly by youths.

AFL forward Charlie Cameron allegedly had his Mercedes taken by a local gang in March.

Coach James Franklin and his staff ignored violent hazing on Penn State’s football team, including threats by the perpetrators that, “I’m going to Sandusky you,” an ex-player claims in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The hazing was overtly sexual, ex-player Isaiah Humphries contends in his U.S. Middle District Court complaint.

He names the university, Franklin and ex-teammate, Damion Barber of Harrisburg, as defendants in the case. Also, he accuses players Micah Parsons, Yetur Gross-Matos and Jesse Luketa of being ringleaders of the alleged abuse.

Luketa even threatened to have him killed for complaining about the hazing, Humphries contends. He says Franklin and the other coaches forced him out of the football program for complaining.

Penn State officials declined to comment on the suit immediately, saying they had not yet seen it.

Humphries claims he resigned his Penn State football scholarship and transferred to the University of California because of the hazing. He seeks unspecified financial damages for the harm he says it caused to his football career and to his physical and mental health.

The hazing occurred in several areas on campus, including the Lasch Building, and was observed repeatedly by coaches who didn’t intervene, the suit states.

Humphries says the hazers told underclassmen on the team that they were “their bitch because this is a prison” and threatened them with sexual assault.

“I am going to Sandusky you,” was a threat also voiced by the supposed abusers in reference to disgraced former Coach Jerry Sandusky, who is in prison for molesting young boys, Humphries claims.

He claims his alleged tormenters would wrestle victims to the ground, then shove their genitals in the victims’ faces or between their buttocks and hump them. Those who resisted were bullied, he contends. Hazers also stole their targets’ clothes, Humphries says.

Humphries claims he and his father, Leonard Humphries, a former Penn State player who went on to play in the NFL, complained about the alleged hazing, but were ignored.

In retaliation for complaining, Humphries claims he was ordered to perform football drills the coaches knew he would fail. He contends the team’s academic advisor subjected him to “irrational and inappropriate censure.”

When he decided to leave, Penn State coaches gave negative reviews to their counterparts at other college programs to which he was considering transferring, Humphries contends.

Luketa threatened him with physical harm, he claims and told him if he “ever visited ‘his city’ in the country of Canada that he would make certain that (Humphries) was gunned down upon arrival,” the suit states.

Humphries claims Barber was charged with violating Penn State’s anti-hazing policy and sanctioned after an investigation by the university’s Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response last year.

Humphries is represented in his suit by attorney Steven F. Marino, the same lawyer who filed a lawsuit against Franklin and Penn State on behalf of former team doctor Scott A. Lynch, who claims Franklin pressured him to return injured players to the field.

A safety, Humphries was a four-star recruit for the Lions from Sachse, Texas. He did not suit up for the Lions in 2018 and left after just one season. Humphries sat out the 2019 season before playing for the PAC-12 school as a redshirt sophomore in 2020.

Staff writer Greg Pickel contributed to this report.

That report, prepared by Athens-Clarke County police in the hours following a 12:44 a.m. traffic stop in downtown Athens, states that Cook admitted to smoking marijuana shortly before he was pulled over. That puts Cook in violation of the UGA Athletic Association’s marijuana-use policy, which calls for suspension of at least one game for football players.

Another football player was riding in the passenger seat and was identified in the report. However, he was not charged with any crimes.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart is aware of the incident but has not yet made a statement. The No. 5 Bulldogs (11-2) resume practice this week in preparation for New Year’s Day bowl game against No. 7 Baylor (11-2) in New Orleans. A press conference is scheduled Wednesday to discuss the Sugar Bowl and the early signing period in recruiting.

Suspicion over a dealer tag on the 2017 Dodge Charger Cook was driving led police to initiate a traffic stop on Clayton Street near The Classic Center, according to the report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday after an open-records request. That stop resulted in Cook’s arrest on two misdemeanor charges – driving without a valid license and possession of an open container of alcohol.

In the course of the stop, police reported “the strong odor of burnt marijuana.” Asked if there was any marijuana in the vehicle, Cook told the officer there was not “because he smoked it.”

Cook’s passenger was making “furtive movements,” according to the report, and was ordered to keep his hands in sight as the investigation continued. Officers were told by the passenger that his “Glock Model 19 pistol was in the glove compartment.” The gun cleared a check for “wants.”

Since no other marijuana “other than shake” was found in the vehicle, Cook was not charged with possession. The alcohol charge was the result of an unsealed 1.75 liter bottle of Hennessy Cognac being found behind the driver’s seat.

Cook was handcuffed and transported to Athens-Clarke County Jail. He posted $1,000 bond on each charge was released a short time later.

A sophomore from Miami, Cook was expected to play a big role for the Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. Georgia also may be without starting running back D’Andre Swift, a junior who is contemplating early-entry in the NFL Draft and could choose to skip the bowl game.

That would leave the Bulldogs with senior Brian Herrien and freshmen Zamir White and Kenny McIntosh as primary ball-carriers against Baylor.

Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today.
See offers.

Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism.