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A 20-year-old Ballarat man who was the subject of a Crime Stoppers campaign told police he knew he was wanted and it was embarrassing, but never turned himself in, a court has heard.
The Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday heard Darcy Sean Hunter was arrested on outstanding warrants at his Richards Street address on September 11, three days after his image appeared on The Courier’s website as part of a joint initiative between the newspaper, Ballarat police and Crime Stoppers.
Hunter appeared in the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including two failures to appear on bail.
The court heard Hunter originally entered a plea of guilty in April, but failed to appear in court when the matter was due for sentencing. Of the 24 charges, a number related to an incident on February 10 of this year.
The court heard Hunter, who was a disqualified driver at the time, was seen overtaking a car at a fast rate of speed on Joseph Street around 10pm.
Hunter then swerved back onto the left side of the road when he noticed an oncoming car in front of him.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Steve Kent said Hunter over-corrected and subsequently rolled his car, ending up in the front yard of 103 Joseph Street.
Hunter fled from the scene, but not before a witness was able to get a description of his visible tattoos and mullet-style hair for police.
After his arrest Hunter told police he was “lucky to get out of it” (the crash).
He was arrested again in March after he was captured on CCTV using a stolen credit card to buy pizza and alcohol.
Hunter’s lawyer, Daniel McGlone, told the court his client had used drugs from an early age, but had since changed his ways.
Mr McGlone told the court Hunter dropped out of school in year eight and had couch surfed, until he found his new partner.
He said things had stabilised in Hunter’s life since being in a relationship, including his offending and drug use.
He told the court Hunter had not offended since March and stopped using ice.
With a child on the way, Mr McGlone said there were motivations in Hunter’s life that had never been there before.
Hunter was convicted and placed on a 12-month community corrections order with conditions to complete 100 hours of unpaid community work. He was also fined $1000.