A man who lead police on a reckless chase with a "serious piece of driving" around the Inverell township will not spend his prison sentence behind bars, but rather in the community - with 100 hours of community service.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Inverell's Bruce Swan of Wattle Place, 24, faced Inverell Local Court on Thursday, charged with a string of driving related offences after a police pursuit on April 11, 2021.
READ ALSO
Charges included those for police pursuit, driving recklessly or furiously, learner driver exceeding the speed limit restriction, driving a stolen car, goods in custody, learner driver not accompanied and not displaying his 'L' plates.
He was also charged with methylamphetamine or 'ICE' possession, after a small bag filled with 2.2 grams of the drug "fell from his anus" during a search back at the station, facts tendered to court read.
He appeared before Magistrate Mal MacPherson, who condemned his actions by saying that even though he was not in jail, he'd "basically gotten a prison sentence for 13 months".
"Don't lose your opportunity," he admonished.
The facts outlined the pursuit occurred when police tried to pull over a Holden Commodore for a roadside breath test at 12.40am near the Caltex Service Station.
Swan, the driver, accelerated sharply and police realised he had no intention of stopping. What followed was a "dangerous" chase through Inverell, Gilgai and Elsmore.
At times, the 'L' plater reached speeds of up to 190km an hour and veered over onto the wrong side of the road numerous times.
Police later identified the registration plates as belonging to a stolen car, taken during an Inverell home invasion on April 6.
The chase ended when Swan lost control of the Holden on Kings Creek Bridge towards Elsmore, coming to a precarious halt right on the edge.
Fleeing into the dark, police found him hiding in tall grass about 200 metres from the road.
His legal representation, Guy Newby, said his client was "no stranger to the justice system", but had come from a "disturbing and difficult background".
He also explained Swan had "foolishly" borrowed the plates off someone else.
Mr Newby told the court Swan "panicked" at the time, and with the events unfolding in the way they did, there was no doubt a prison sentence was the only option.
"But how should that [sentence] be served?" he asked, before pleading to the court to grant "one more chance" for Swan to change his ways.
He outlined Swan's recent participation and engagement with Linking Communities, employment programs and his work on drug and alcohol issues.
After a lengthy deliberation in silence, punctuated only with the sounds of Magistrate MacPherson turning pages and writing furiously, the verdict was delivered.
Magistrate Macpherson said it was a "serious piece of driving" and notwithstanding the deserted streets, would have undeniably endangered other road users "had they been on the road at the time".
Overall, he gave Swan an aggregate or combined sentence of a 13 month intensive corrections order, 100 hours of community service, a driver's license disqualification for 15 months, supervision from Inverell Community Corrections and an order to abstain from drugs.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark inverelltimes.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @inverelltimes
- Follow us on Instagram @inverelltimes
- Follow us on Google News
