Taxi Driver Online

Aussie Alien hunter robs cabbie


A Brisbane man who allegedly robbed a taxi driver at knifepoint was in pursuit of alien life forms at the time, a court has heard.

Alfred Aaron Reid, who claimed he was psychotic at the time, was today refused permission to have his case heard before the Mental Health Court for a second time after three senior judges found his deliberate use of the drug speed may have contributed to his behaviour.

Reid is charged with armed robbery and unlicensed driving after he was allegedly caught by police on August 20, 2006.

Prosecutors allege his learner's permit had expired when he was seen getting out of the driver's seat of a car.

Later that day, Reid allegedly caught a taxi from a Goodna taxi rank, in the city's south-west, before pulling a knife and threatening to stab the driver at the end of the journey.

He is accused of rifling through the driver's coat, grabbing his satchel and mobile phone and escaping on foot.

In September last year, Reid, a diagnosed schizophrenic, had tried to have the charges heard before the Mental Health Court on the grounds that he was of unsound mind at the time.

He told doctors he believed aliens were due to make a dawn landing on Earth on the morning of his alleged crimes, and he had gone out looking for extra-terrestrial landing sites. He also claimed he had no memory of the alleged hold-up or driving the car.

His application was refused, however, prompting Reid to appeal.

This morning, the full bench of the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the original decision based on evidence that the accused man had injected speed around the time the offences were committed.

His intoxication from the drug may have affected his behaviour, the court found.

Reid will go to trial in the District Court at a later date.
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