Daniel Austin, 33, from Nagambie, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to driving at a dangerous speed, reckless conduct endangering life, three counts of driving disqualified, driving while suspended, using an unregistered vehicle, committing an indictable offence while on bail, theft, and negligently dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Prosecutor Sergeant Laslo Oroszvary told the court police spotted Austin driving past them on O’Dwyer Rd in Nagambie in the early hours of May 4 last year at a speed they estimated to be more than 150km/h.
He was clocked on the police radar driving at 144km/h in a 60km/h zone on High St, Nagambie, between Cemetery Rd and Barwood Dve.
Fifteen minutes later Austin and the car owner — who was in the passenger seat — went to the car owner's house where Austin then drove around a police vehicle that tried to stop him, and off towards Shepparton.
He was driving on a disqualified driver’s licence at the time.
In a separate incident on October 16, 2020, police tried to intercept Austin as he drove along Wimble St in Seymour at 122km/h in a 60km/h zone.
He was later spotted by an off-duty police officer on Delatite Rd, Seymour, where he was driving at more than 120km/h.
Sgt Oroszvary said Austin was spotted by yet another off-duty officer on the Goulburn Valley Hwy, near Telegraph Rd, where he was driving at a dangerous speed, driving over double lines and was on the wrong side of the road while driving around a blind corner.
The court heard when he was arrested three and a half months later he denied driving, but one of the officers who saw him had recognised him in the driver’s seat.
In separate incidents, on October 18, 2020, he was spotted by police in Kilmore driving while disqualified, in a car that was unregistered, and the vehicle had a damaged window.
He was again caught driving on a disqualified licence in Wimble St, Seymour, on November 3, 2020.
In another separate incident he and another man stole a trolley-load of groceries — worth $522.50 — from Coles supermarket at Riverside Plaza in Shepparton.
Sgt Oroszvary also told the court about an incident where Austin and three co-accused used a stolen credit card to transfer money into other accounts and withdraw money from an ATM in September 2019.
Austin’s solicitor Ashlea Patterson told the court her client acknowledged links between his drug use and his offending.
She also spoke of how a psychological assessment found his deprived childhood may have left him vulnerable to substance abuse.
The court also heard Austin had a diagnosed borderline personality disorder.
Ms Patterson said when he was released from prison Austin intended to attend rehabilitation.
Magistrate Victoria Campbell jailed Austin for nine months, and ordered that the entire time had already been served in pre-sentence detention.
She also fined him $500 for driving an unregistered vehicle and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.
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