Ali Qussay Yousuf: Former immigration detainee accused of year-long crime spree across Perth

A former immigration detainee has wreaked havoc across the suburbs and amassed a charge sheet with 30 alleged crimes, his latest finally landing him in custody after he allegedly ran a red light and left a man with life-changing injuries. The West Australian can reveal Ali Qussay Yousuf, 34, one of the people released from immigration detention after a landmark High Court ruling last year, is now accused of an almost 12-month crime spree across Perth. It is understood that, on several occasions, police have opposed bail after arresting Mr Yousuf but he has gone on to be released by the courts. Records show he has appeared before a magistrate almost 20 times this year. Mr Yousuf was most recently able to walk out of Perth Magistrates Court on December 6 with his bail extended despite facing more than two dozen charges. Those charges include possessing prohibited weapons, possessing a firearm or ammunition, stealing, driving with drugs in his system, possessing methamphetamine, driving without a licence, stealing a car and careless driving. It has now emerged that — while already facing a string of offences — Mr Yousuf was last week charged over a crash in Doubleview that left a male driver with serious, life-changing injuries. Police say Mr Yousuf was behind the wheel of a Nissan Dualis on Huntriss Road in Doubleview when he failed to slow down and stop at a red light at the intersection of Barnes Street and Sackville Terrace about 5am on November 29. It is alleged the car crashed into a Toyota Corolla — which police say had the right of way — causing the car to spin out of control and hit several small trees in a nearby garden. The driver was taken to hospital with what were considered to be life-threatening injuries. On Friday, major crash officers charged Yousuf with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm over the crash. He appeared in Northbridge Magistrates Court on Saturday where he was refused bail. He is next in court on Friday. Mr Yousuf’s previous charges relate to alleged offending on more than a dozen different dates between January and November. The first relates to claims he caused criminal damage by fire on January 19 in Dianella. He is then accused of possessing a prohibited weapon, possessing ammunition, possessing stolen or unlawfully obtained property and having ready access to both weapons and illegal drugs in Balga on April 10 and stealing on March 30. Then, in July, court records show he allegedly committed offences including careless driving, driving without a licence, possessing a prohibited weapon, and possessing meth and drug paraphernalia in Balcatta. In November — just a few days before the Doubleview crash — it is alleged he possessed a prohibited weapon in Karrinyup on November 22 and was also charged with stealing a day earlier in Joondanna. Mr Yousuf has pleaded not guilty to several of the charges. Last year, the High Court ruled in the NZYQ case that people could not be kept in immigration detention indefinitely if there was no prospect of deporting them. The judgment has caused major headaches for the Albanese Government, including when another detainee, Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan, was allegedly involved in the brutal bashing and robbing of a Girrawheen grandmother in April.