Ryan Sharp allegedly used a fake Facebook profile of a smiling blonde woman to catfish the couple into giving him their address. Photo / Supplied
A man will spend at least the next eight weeks on remand after he allegedly used a fake Facebook profile of a smiling blonde woman to catfish a couple into giving him their address days after they beeped at his partner in a McDonald's drive-through.
Two weeks later, he allegedly used an improvised explosive to blow up their car, news.com.au reported.
In court documents seen by news.com.au, police ran through the elaborate plan allegedly hatched by Wollongong man Ryan Sharp, 33, after his partner was beeped at in the drive-through on February 22 to stop her reversing into the car behind her.
NSW Police allege Mr Sharp and his partner put another Wollongong couple through hell for weeks, intimidating, threatening and stalking them in a terrifying campaign that allegedly ended with Mr Sharp blowing up the couple's car in the early hours of March 5 as it sat in the family's Koonawarra driveway.
The car was not destroyed but police allege the blast had the potential to kill or seriously injure someone.
Court documents show the drama between the two couples kicked off on February 22 almost immediately after Mr Sharp's co-accused told her partner about the fight.
Documents allege Mr Sharp's partner had followed the couple for more than 15 minutes through the southern suburbs of Wollongong after the drive-through altercation and had taken a photo of the couple's license plate and car.
Mr Sharp's partner had also been to Wollongong Police Station to make the complaint, where she managed to obtain the driver's full name and was shown a photo of a man of similar appearance living in the same suburb as the alleged victim.
Police then allege Mr Sharp and his partner searched Facebook for the man, quickly finding him and his partner.
Mr Sharp then allegedly, using a fake Facebook profile he created in 2014 of a blonde woman, catfished and added the couple, kicking off a conversation.
Coincidentally, the couple were selling a mattress and bed frame on Facebook Marketplace and it was under that guise that Mr Sharp allegedly started the conversation and then obtained the address.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Detective Superintendent Michael McLean described Mr Sharp's alleged methods as "ingenious".
Police allege even as officers visited Mr Sharp and his partner at their home, Mr Sharp was sitting on the lounge listening to police and messaging the couple at the same time.
The day after the beeping fight, Mr Sharp allegedly headed to the couple's home and used a baseball bat to smash their car windows, an alleged act that cost them $10,000 to fix.
Less than 10 minutes later, court documents show officers contacted Mr Sharp's partner and told her they would not be taking her complaint further.
Then, 15 minutes later, Mr Sharp allegedly used his fake Facebook profile to message the couple on the social media app.
"I'm going to set your car on fire in a few hours then I'm going to rape you sl*t and make that c**k sucker watch both of you have made a big mistake," Mr Sharp wrote, according to documents.
Another message from the same night showed Mr Sharp allegedly threatening the man's life.
Mr Sharp was arrested six weeks later, telling police in his interview he was "upset police were not taking action" regarding his partner's alleged road rage incident at McDonald's.
Appearing via video link in Wollongong Local Court today, Mr Sharp, 33, was still dressed in the yellow high-vis outfit he was wearing when he was dramatically arrested at a petrol station by the heavily armed public riot squad early Tuesday morning.
Mr Sharp immediately welled up when he spotted his mum and sister in the courtroom, occasionally bursting into tears as he waved at his family and repeatedly mouthed, "I'm sorry".
His mother Debbie, who Mr Sharp could see from his locked video link room, mouthed back: "It's OK, be strong".
His 31-year-old partner and co-accused was also at court to support Mr Sharp but sat outside the courtroom.
Magistrate Michael Stoddart refused to release Mr Sharp on bail "given the gravity of the charges and the strength of the prosecution case".
Mr Stoddart told the court there was a "strong and overwhelming case" Mr Sharp had participated in "extremely grave criminal offences" and adjourned the case to May 30.
The court heard Mr Sharp had been living at his grandmother's house in Lurnea, in Sydney's south west, since 2017 and after she had been diagnosed with cancer.
The court heard Mr Sharp's 81-year-old grandmother relied on him for her "health and support".
That was supported by Debbie Sharp, who made submissions that she worried her mother's "health would decline if (Ryan) can't help her".
That was opposed by the prosecution, citing surveillance done by detectives leading up to Mr Sharp's arrest.
Police allege Mr Sharp only visited his sick grandmother's house a "handful of times", and would only stay in Lurnea when he and his partner and co-accused had had a fight and she'd kick him out of her Lake Heights home.
The court heard Mr Sharp also had strong ties to the community and was employed as a fridge mechanic.
Despite that, Mr Stoddart refused his application for bail, a decision that caused Mr Sharp to immediately tear up.
"I love you mum," Mr Sharp said, before being led to jail.
Mr Sharp, 33 was dramatically arrested by the public riot squad early Tuesday morning outside a petrol station after an extensive police investigation. His 31-year-old partner was arrested a short time later.
Mr Sharp's application for bail was formally refused yesterday when his lawyer was unable to attend Wollongong Local Court. The 33-year-old appeared briefly via video link on Wednesday, crying on camera and waving at his sister in the courtroom.
Police allege the drama started on February 22 when Mr Sharpe's partner was driving in the McDonalds drive-through in Warrawong, a suburb in the NSW city of Wollongong.
Mr Sharp's partner was allegedly close to hitting another car, causing the car behind to beep at her. The two drivers began to argue in what police later described as a "relatively minor altercation".
Police allege Mr Sharp's partner, believing the couple was in the wrong, noted down her number plate and tried to lodge a police complaint.
But not long after lodging the complaint, police allege the couple took matters into their own hands.
The couple was then allegedly subject to weeks of threats and intimidation, including having the windows of her Ford Ranger smashed.
Mr McLean said the couple was also hit with a "barrage of online threats".
Police say the threatening behaviour came to a head on March 5 when Mr Sharp planted a bomb on the woman's car, causing it to blow up in a fiery explosion in her family driveway.
During their investigation, detectives allege threats were also being made to a relative of an electronics store worker over an unrelated dispute.
Following extensive investigations, strike force detectives, assisted by the Public Order and Riot Squad, arrested Mr Sharp just before 6am on Tuesday during a vehicle stop on King St in Warrawong.
Police found a drone, an extendable baton and documents in Mr Sharp's car.
Mr Sharp was charged with two counts of using a carriage service to threaten serious harm, two counts of stalk/intimidate intending fear physical etc harm, using a carriage service to threaten to kill, destroying or damaging property, placing explosive in/near vehicle with intent cause harm, threaten or cause injury to person for being witness and two counts of possess or use prohibited weapon without permit.
After Mr Sharp's arrest, police searched a home at nearby Lake Heights where they found a pipe bomb. Officers from the Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit made sure the bomb was safe before detectives continued their search.
Investigators also seized an electronic control device, numerous electronic storage devices, a computer, a laptop, and mobile phones.
Mr Sharp's 31-year-old partner was arrested at the Lake Heights home and charged with accessory after the fact to destroy or damage property and stalk/intimidate intend fear physical etc harm.
She was granted strict conditional bail and is due to appear at Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday 22 May 2019.
Police then searched a second home at Lurnea in Sydney's southwest, allegedly finding more items that are used to make improvised explosive devices (IED).
The site was used by Hezbollah to plan attacks on Israeli civilians.