A DELACOMBE man who stole a car from a local auto repair business, only to be chased and apprehended by a staff member, has been jailed.
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Andrew Wilson, 26, who pleaded guilty to a string of offences including theft of a motor vehicle and assault in company, appeared in the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The court heard the unemployed brick layer and another male pulled up outside Wiltshire Auto Repairs on the afternoon of March 2016 when the accused got out of the car and used a set of keys to drive off in a $15,000 ute.
Witnesses alerted staff about the accused after he appeared to stall the car.
The witnesses and a number of staff members followed the accused in three separate cars along Weighbridge Road.
The court heard he attempted to evade the cars before staff member Joe Fontana drove around the accused, cutting him off and forcing him down an embankment.
Wilson, who has only ever held a learner’s permit and was on bail at the time, was apprehended by Fontana until police arrived.
Wilson told police he had been on a drug bender for several days after the recent death of a friend.
The court also heard about a number of instances in July last year when Wilson breached an intervention order.
Less than 24-hours after the order was served on Wilson, he rang the victim and told her “tell me where you are or I’ll shoot everybody till I find you”.
Wilson was also charged after he assaulted a prisoner residing at the same correctional facility in 2012
Wilson’s defence lawyer said his client had had a drug problem for most of his life.
He added Wilson’s low IQ also meant he was impulsive and didn’t think things through.
The lawyer said Wilson, who was keen to work again and get himself “back on track”, would benefit from a community corrections order.
Sentencing Wilson to one year and two months imprisonment to be followed by an 18-month CCO, Magistrate Gregory Robinson said a message must be sent to deter people from taking drugs.
“The courts must react and say it’s not OK to take ice, commit offences and then seek a lenient punishment because they were drug affected,” he said. He was also fined $750 for failing to answer bail.
