A drug addict who rammed a police car and led officers on several high-speed pursuits around Canberra out of "desperation" will be eligible for parole in December.
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Shane Michael Laws, 42, was sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday for 20 offences - some of which he admitted to, and some of which he was found guilty.
The swathe of charges, which are mostly driving offences, hail from several separate incidents between mid-2018 and late 2019.
On one occasion in November 2018, Laws was approached by police officers in the poker machine area of a Deakin club, and when they told him there was a warrant out for his arrest, he ran off.
The court heard on Thursday the officers and Laws took a tumble down some stairs, but one eventually managed to grab hold of him and found him in possession of heroin and methamphetamine.
Magistrate Louise Taylor said Laws drove away from police and led them on several pursuits between 2018 and 2019 out of his desperation to avoid officers. On some occasions, his conduct was "protracted" and a risk to pedestrians including children and elderly people, she said.
The court heard Laws had managed to evade police for nearly a month when he was spotted in a stolen Volkswagen Jetta at North Lyneham shops on October 23, 2019.
Ms Taylor said officers parked their unmarked police car behind the Volkswagen in an attempt to stop Laws leaving, but he accelerated and "deliberately and repeatedly" rammed the car.
"[Laws] displayed little regard for the safety of [the] officers," Ms Taylor said on Thursday.
One of the police officers drew their gun and told Laws to stop accelerating, but he ignored them, at one point pinning an officer between the Volkswagen and another car.
Documents previously tendered to the court said Laws "compressed" the officer's leg by doing this.
Police were forced to smash the Volkswagen's window with a baton and hit Laws to try to stop him driving, but he managed to jump out the car's window and flee police on foot.
Officers found a sawn-off .410 shotgun in the stolen car, and later tracked down and apprehended a shirtless Laws as he roamed around a golf course.
Ms Taylor on Thursday said Laws had spent some 14 months in custody for the offences, and sentenced him to a total 36 months' jail, including the time he'd already served.
She said Laws had led a "primarily pro-social" life up until about five years ago, and she believed he could get back to that kind of lifestyle if he took his rehabilitation seriously.
Laws will be eligible for parole in December this year. Ms Taylor also suspended his driver's licence for five years, and ordered that he pay some $3000 in fines.
Cassandra Morgan
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
