Greg “Wheelie” Jordan is a longtime local of Tennant Creek, an avid eightballer player and a genuinely nice bloke.
He is also a wheelchair user and never had an issue in his 33 years in town before the weekend, when a trio of empathy lacking teenagers set upon him all for a bit of money, a six pack and some cigarettes.
As the town grapples with break-ins and senseless vandalism, residents also struggle to know why these youth are now picking our most vulnerable.
Coward teenagers terrorise loved local
The anger was palpable for many Tennant Creek locals as news spread Sunday morning about a home invasion and assault of long-time local, Greg ‘Wheelie’ Jordan.
Greg, who is a wheelchair user, was home alone on Saturday night when heard noises outside of his home while on the phone to his sister around 10pm.
Suddenly his dog Max started “going off”. “I let Max out and he bolted past a car before I heard a different tone of yelp, and he came running back with his tail between his legs.
Then I saw a black face at the screen looking at me,” he said. “I went straight out and tried to chase her down but I couldn’t find her.” Greg said he went to bed around an hour later, and was trying to get to sleep when noticed movement outside his bedroom window.
He got out bed, into the wheelchair and threw a towel over his lap. As he peered out the window he heard a “godawful” yelp and witnessed the girls kicking poor Max in the guts.
Wanting to protect his beloved companion, Greg raced outside to confront three teenagers, who all appeared to be girls.
They started throwing chairs, rocks and concrete pieces at him, before roughly tipping him out of his wheelchair.
For what Greg says could have been 45 minutes to an hour, the cowardly thugs continued the abuse, as he lay defenceless and naked on the ground.
They used brooms, threw an ashtray at him which broke just near his head.
They laughed, taunted and jeered at him, while ransacking his home. Greg said it felt like an eternity before help arrived.
He feared the teenagers were going to kill him. Even though they tried to take his phone, he managed to call 000.
“I was calling them cowards and pleading for them to stop,” he said. “I asked them what I have ever done to them? I’ve never feared for my life and I have always stood my ground ever since I came to Tennant Creek 33 years ago.
“I have seen kids run amok in the street before but all the kids know me, and when I tell them to stop they say, ‘OK sorry Mr Wheelie’.
“I’m pretty sure these kids are out-of-towners, they are not local kids because they wouldn’t pick on the vulnerable.” Struggling with the trauma of the attack, and unsure whether the vicious little shits have been caught or punished, is weighing heavily on his mind.
“I have never felt so helpless and humiliated in my life,” he said.
“I hear it took the police so long to help me because they were attending a prior attack on an elderly person who uses a walking frame.”
After the deplorable ambush, the youth escaped with a bit money, a six-pack of beer and some cigarettes.
Tennant Creek Police sent three general duty units to the scene around 12.30am on Sunday, with a crime scene established about 20 minutes later.
A police spokesperson says one female offender has been identified with two female offenders outstanding.
“No charges have been laid yet but we expect aggravated robbery charges will be laid,” he said.
If anyone has any information about the attack, please call Police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 00.
This article appeared in Tennant & District Times, 17 February 2023.
Related story: Youth steal from another vulnerable resident
