Heavily tattooed former athlete and his glamorous girlfriend are arrested over alleged elaborate scheme which saw them 'steal luxury cars from dealerships'
A heavily tattooed man who allegedly boasted online about being a 'petty car thief with expensive taste' has been charged over an alleged luxury car theft scheme.
Luke Lythgoe, 33, was arrested on Thursday following a police investigation into a number of expensive cars being stolen while on test drives from car dealerships in Sydney's inner west.
Mr Lythgoe, a former sponsored triathlon athlete, was stopped at a Blacktown shopping centre along with his girlfriend Ashleigh Wilson, 21, with police allegedly finding the keys to several cars in her handbag.
Luke Lythgoe was arrested on Thursday following a police investigation into a number of expensive cars being stolen while on test drives from car dealerships in Sydney
His girlfriend Ashleigh Wilson , 21, allegedly had the keys to several stolen cars in her handbag when stopped by police at a shopping centre
On a social media account started in December, Mr Lythgoe, from the Gold Coast, allegedly documented his exploits, posting a number of photos of videos of himself driving and posing with luxury cars - some with the number plates blanked out.
An Audi RS3 stolen from Ryde on December 30 was recovered in the Blacktown shopping centre car park, while a BMW M3 stolen from Parramatta on Monday was recovered in Kogarah.
Surrey Hills Police Area Command acting crime manager Detective Inspector Michael Fuller said police have recovered four allegedly stolen cars in total.
'I would say social media has played a role in this investigation. We believe we have recovered all the vehicles but obviously inquiries are still ongoing,' he said.
Lythgoe fronted Parramatta Local Court on Thursday where he was remanded on bail charged over a luxury car theft scheme
Ms Wilson pleaded guilty to having stolen property and received a $500 fine and a 12-month community corrections order
Mr Lythgoe was charged at Blacktown police station with taking and driving a conveyance without the consent of the owner, possessing identity to commit an indictable offence, goods in personal custody suspected of being stolen and three outstanding warrants.
Ms Wilson, also from the Gold Coast, was charged with goods in personal custody suspected of being stolen.
The pair fronted Parramatta Local Court on Friday via videolink, with Ms Wilson pleading guilty to her charge and receiving a $500 fine and 12-month community corrections order.
The court heard Mr Lythgoe would allegedly pose as a buyer at the luxury car dealerships before test driving the cars and not returning.
Prosecutors also said Mr Lythgoe was wanted back in Queensland on fraud charges and had three outstanding car theft related warrants issued in 2004, 2005, and 2011.
In 2019 Mr Lythgoe was competing in international triathlon competitions representing Australia.
'I was determined to never use drugs again and I sure as hell was never going back to prison,' he wrote in July 2019.
His bail application was denied and he will front Parramatta Local Court again on January 12.
Lythgoe started an Instagram page where he documented the alleged car theft spree