Two men will front court on dangerous driving charges after they were caught driving down the Hume Highway at 185 kilometres an hour on Tuesday afternoon.

Highway patrol officers spotted a white BMW and a black Volkswagen travelling at high speeds south towards Canberra along the Hume Highway near Goulburn.

A speed check revealed both cars were allegedly travelling at 185km/h in the 110km/h zone.

The drivers, who are not known to each other, were pulled over nearby.

The 30-year-old Volkswagen driver will appear in Goulburn Local Court charged with driving in a dangerous manner and exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km/h.

The 38-year-old BMW driver was issued with a court attendance notice and had his car impounded for three months.

Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner John Hartley, said the drivers were “lucky to escape with only charges”.

“Driving at speeds well over the marked speed limit could have resulted in a potentially fatal crash. Some of the worst crashes on our roads have been attributed to speed,” Assistant Commissioner Hartley said.

“It’s not rocket science – the higher the speed, the worse the impact if a vehicle is involved in a crash.”

Police are investigating a fatal crash which occurred east of Queanbeyan today.

About 7.40am (Thursday 5 November 2015), a Holden Commodore was travelling south on Hoskinstown Road, Hoskinstown, east of Queanbeyan, when it left the road and hit a tree.

The driver and sole occupant, a 19-year-old man, died at the scene.

Police from Monaro Local Area Command attended and commenced an investigation.

Hoskinstown Road was closed in both directions whilst the scene was examined; however the road has since reopened.

Inquiries into the incident continue and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.

Police are investigating after a large building fire in the state’s southern tablelands yesterday.

About 3.40pm (Wednesday 4 November 2015), emergency services were called to Mundy Street, Goulburn, where they found a building well alight.

The building, a former orphanage, is abandoned and no-one was inside at the time.

Fire & Rescue NSW crews extinguished the blaze.

Officers from The Hume Local Area Command attended and commenced inquiries.

A number of smaller buildings and halls around the main building were not damaged.

Detectives from The Hume Local Area Command are continuing their investigations into the cause of the fire.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Goulburn Police on 4821 2344 or Crime Stoppers.

Police are investigating following a home invasion at North Albury overnight.

About 2.15am (Thursday 5 November 2015), the residents of a home on Wewak Street were awoken by unknown people breaking in.

Police have been told a 52-year-old man was threatened by a woman armed with a knife, while his 32-year-old son was assaulted by a man armed with a baseball bat.

The pair then stole the younger man’s mobile phone, before leaving.

Emergency services were called and attended a short time later; securing a crime scene that was examined by specialist forensic officers.

The injured man was treated by ambulance paramedics but not taken to hospital.

Officers from Albury Local Area Command are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

A man and teenage boy are assisting with inquiries after alleged stolen goods and housebreaking implements were found following a pursuit in Wagga Wagga today.

About 9.45am today (Wednesday 4 November 2015), officers from Wagga Wagga Local Area Command responded to an alleged break-in at a house on Brooklyn Drive, Bourkelands.

On arrival, officers saw the man and the teen ride away from the scene on a trail bike.

Police sighted the pair again on the trail bike in Moorong where a pursuit was called.

The pursuit was terminated a short time later in nearby Ashmont due to public safety concerns.

With the assistance of the public, the pair was sighted again in Fox Street, Wagga Wagga, where they ran off after colliding with a stationary police car.

The man and teen were arrested nearby with the assistance of the Dog Unit.

A backpack containing alleged stolen goods and housebreaking implements was located in a nearby building and a search of the man also located alleged housebreaking implements.

A 32-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy were taken to Wagga Wagga Police Station where they are currently assisting police with inquiries.

Police have issued a warning to drivers who choose to speed that they will be caught, after two motorists were caught allegedly speeding over 45km/h more than the speed limit in Goulburn yesterday.

About 1.35pm (Tuesday 3 November 2015), officers attached to Traffic and Highway Patrol Command noticed two vehicles travelling at high speeds south along the Hume Highway.

A speed check revealed both vehicles, a white BMW and a black Volkswagen, were allegedly travelling at 185km/h in the 110km/h zone.

The drivers, who are not known to each other, were stopped nearby.

The driver of the BMW, a 38-year-old man, and the driver of the Volkswagen, a 30-year-old man, were both issued Field Court Attendance Notices for drive in a dangerous manner, and exceed speed limit more than 45km/hr.

The driver of the Volkswagen will appear in Goulburn Local Court on 25 November 2015

The 38-year-old man’s vehicle was confiscated for three months.

Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner John Hartley, has warned those who choose to break the law on the roads that they will be caught.

“Some of the worst crashes on our roads have been attributed to speed,” Assistant Commissioner Hartley said.

“It’s not rocket science – the higher the speed, the worse the impact if a vehicle is involved in a crash.

“The two drivers caught today speeding in Goulburn are lucky to escape with only charges – driving at speeds well over the marked speed limit could have resulted in a potentially fatal crash.

“Any drivers who choose to not to follow the marked speed limit and put themselves and other road users at risk will be caught,” he said.

Police are appealing for information following a house fire and theft of firearms in the state’s south.

Between 26 October 2015 and 29 October 2015, unknown persons have entered a property on Williams Drive, Tarago, reportedly stealing a number of items, including firearms.

Upon returning to his property yesterday (29 October 2015), the owner observed his house completely destroyed by fire and his firearms missing from the safe.

Police from The Hume Local Area Command are investigating the incident and are treating the fire as suspicious.

An off-duty police officer has been charged with drink-driving offences.

About 6.10pm yesterday (Tuesday 27 October 2015), officers from The Hume Local Area Command stopped a Mazda SUV in Auburn Street, Goulburn, and spoke with the driver.

The male driver was arrested after allegedly failing to supply a roadside breath test sample.

He was taken to Goulburn Police Station, where he allegedly refused to provide a breath analysis sample.

The officer, who is attached to Southern Region, was issued with a Field Court Attendance Notice for fail to submit to roadside breath test and refuse to submit to breath analysis.

He is due to appear in Goulburn Local Court on Wednesday 18 November 2015.

A COMMUNITY is mourning a young girl believed to have been murdered at her home in Victoria’s northeast at the weekend.

Zoe, 11, who was remembered as a sweet girl and a “beautiful angel”.

Neighbours and friends, among them children in school uniform, gathered outside the Wangaratta house today to lay flowers and toys for Zoe, 11, who was remembered as a sweet girl and a “beautiful angel”.

Distraught mother Janelle Saunders was being comforted by police and family, as homicide detectives continued to probe for clues into the suspected murder.

A 29-year-old Mildura man remained under police guard in a psychiatric unit of the Wangaratta Hospital.

It’s understood he was an acquaintance of the Saunders family, but was not well known to them. It’s believed he had attended a party at their Inchbold St property on Saturday night.

Local parents told of their anguish at having to explain the death to their children, including Zoe’s classmates at a primary school nearby to her home.

Police were yet to lay charges and were today speaking to “several” potential witnesses over the death.

Neighbours described a “beautiful” family, and said there were often friends gathered at the Saunders’ home.

It’s understood Zoe had been living with her mum and her mum’s long-term boyfriend, and that her biological dad died suddenly a number of years ago.

Pictures shared with friends and relatives by Ms Saunders and her partner revealed a happy household: Zoe playing with their pet dog Jax, family holidays to the beach and the snow, Zoe riding a horse.

Ms Saunders regularly shared photographs of her daughter, and had “Zoe Louise” tattooed across her wrist.

Police are investigating a reported sighting of fugitive father and son Gino and Mark Stocco on the Hume Highway in southern New South Wales.

A media briefing scheduled for 2:00pm (AEDT) on Monday in Wagga Wagga was delayed so police could follow up the reported sighting at Tarcutta, about 50 kilometres east of Wagga Wagga.

Earlier, police said the pair could have stockpiles of supplies and weapons throughout New South Wales and Victoria.

Victorian Assistant Commissioner Rick Nugent said the sighting at Tarcutta was “unconfirmed”.

“New South Wales police are following up on that and we’ll continue to deploy our policing resources in and around the border and the north-east of Victoria,” he said.

He said Victoria Police would continue to assess their operational plans over the next few days before deciding whether or not to scale back the operation.

“Certainly the last confirmed sighting was on Saturday night at 9:00pm south of Gundagai. It’s now Monday,” he said.

“We’ll assess that later on and also again [on Tuesday], and if information and intelligence suggests they’ve continued in another direction we’ll look at winding back the operation here.

“But intelligence does indicate that the Stoccos do move frequently between southern New South Wales and north-east Victoria. We have that from the confirmed sightings.”

Assistant Commissioner Nugent said it appeared the pair was operating alone.

“We know that they drove off without paying for fuel recently. We do believe they’re running out of money and that they are not getting support from others, but we continue to investigate that,” he said.

“Our intelligence suggests that if they’re running out of money they will look at ways that they can obtain some food or other supplies — most likely by stealing them covertly.”

How fugitive father and son Gino and Mark Stocco keep evading a major police operation to find them.
The last confirmed sighting of the father and son at Gundagai in southern NSW occurred when they stopped to fill up a white Toyota LandCruiser with fuel, and drove away without paying, about 9:00pm (AEDT) on Saturday night.

Police also received a report of a sighting east of Wagga Wagga on Sunday morning, but have been unable to confirm that, Wagga Wagga Superintendent Bob Noble said.

There had been multiple sightings of the stolen vehicle in Victoria over the previous few days, including an unconfirmed sighting at Sale, in the state’s south-east, on Saturday morning.

Superintendent Noble said it was possible the men had caches of supplies hidden in bushland in NSW and Victoria.

“These are obviously fairly resourceful individuals,” Superintendent Noble told 702 ABC Sydney.

“They work in a team, obviously. There’s a high trust model. They are father and son. So it’s quite possible that level of organisation is present.”

Police have been running a major operation to capture Gino, 57, and his 35-year-old son since they allegedly shot at police with a high-powered rifle during a car chase in Wagga Wagga earlier this month.

Police believe the men have been changing their appearance, including shaving their beards.

They are wanted for a number of violent crimes and property offences in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Toyota LandCruiser used by Stocco fugitives
Photo: The Toyota LandCruiser ute was captured on CCTV at Bairnsdale on October 21. (Victoria Police)

“We’re keeping an open mind about the search pattern and the areas because they are mobile and the situation appears fluid,” Superintendent Noble said.

“The police want to see these people apprehended.

“There’s no hard evidence that they are likely to be violent towards members of the community but they have demonstrated a propensity for violence towards police and, to that end, they are unpredictable.

“People are concerned about that. People out in rural areas are concerned particularly because this seems to be the environment they’re comfortable in.”

The men are believed to be frequently changing the licence plates on the LandCruiser ute, and police believe they are in possession of at least four sets of plates: Vic YHS085, SA S415AZL, Vic ZUE632 and NSW BV70WP.

The ute is also fitted with a distinctive white bull bar, white rims and a black snorkel at the front of the vehicle on the driver’s side.

“A nice vehicle, a late model LandCruiser, and obviously there’s a fair few of them running around in this part of the world but we are taking all those alleged sightings and all that information seriously and chasing it all down,” Superintendent Noble said.