Canberra Man Faces Multiple Charges After Alleged Violent Spree Targeting Elderly Woman and Businesses
A Canberra man has been accused of a series of violent crimes, including allegedly tying up an elderly woman with an electrical cord while demanding guns, drugs, and cash during a terrifying home invasion. Mathew James Massey, 49, from Taylor, faces numerous charges following incidents that police believe are connected across the ACT.
Alleged Home Invasion and Confinement of Elderly Victim
According to police documents, around 3:30 am on December 5, 2026, Massey and two other individuals entered the home of a 72-year-old woman by smashing a rear glass sliding door. The man then allegedly forced the elderly woman from her bed into her walker, where he used an electrical cord to tie her ankles and wrists together.
Police state that Massey kept demanding, "Where are the guns, where are the drugs?" while the woman pleaded that she had no such items in her home. The documents indicate the alleged robber then demanded cash and valuables, and the woman, who "feared further escalation," pointed to $1,850 kept in her tallboy. During this encounter, she sustained a deep cut to her thumb that caused bleeding.
Massey then allegedly forced the woman to sign over her car registration papers to him before leaving the scene.
Armed Robbery and Additional Burglary Allegations
Later that same morning, police facts allege Massey and two other people entered the Money Chain Foreign Exchange in Dickson. The Taylor man allegedly pointed a black shotgun-style firearm at a staff member and said, "Give me the money, don't try to run."
Police documents state Massey then broke through the security door and stole more than $841,701 in cash across two dozen different currencies.
Massey has also been accused of an aggravated burglary in Macquarie, an attempted ram raid at a Kingston business, and a second aggravated burglary in Gordon. Police believe these incidents, occurring between December 4 and 5, 2025, are linked to the same spree.
Arrest and Court Proceedings
Following enquiries by ACT Criminal Investigations, Massey was located by Queensland Police Service officers in Cooktown, Queensland, on Monday, January 26, 2026. At the time of his arrest, the man had approximately $327,587 in different currencies in his possession, which police believe to be proceeds from the alleged armed robbery in Dickson.
The man was subsequently extradited to the ACT on Friday, January 30, 2026. On Saturday, January 31, in the ACT Magistrates Court, a lawyer acting for Massey did not make an application for conditional freedom, and Magistrate Jane Campbell refused bail.
Ongoing Police Investigation
ACT police stated that three people were involved in the burglaries. One alleged offender, Rohan Allan Rosewarne, 24, died after a collision on an exit ramp off Gungahlin Drive. Police said enquiries are continuing to confirm the identity and locate the third man involved in the string of incidents.
Authorities are urging anyone with information about the incidents or the third man to contact Crime Stoppers as the investigation progresses.
