A 33-year-old Ararat man has been jailed for the 13th time after evading police seven times in less than a month.
Daniel Coad faced the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court via videolink for his sentence hearing on Thursday, after pleading guilty to a string of driving related charges, in addition to a breach of a community corrections order (CCO) earlier this week.
Magistrate Ronald Saines sentenced Coad to 15 months’ jail with a non-parole period of 11 months on 10 driving charges, including the three counts of drive in a dangerous manner and seven counts of unlicensed driving.
He was also jailed for two months – to be served concurrently – on the CCO breach and was ordered to finish the two year order once he was released from prison in 2018.
On all other matters Coad was also placed on a second CCO for 12 months with orders to complete 100 hours of community work.
His licence was also cancelled and he was disqualified from driving for two years.
Mr Saines said a combination of his “extraordinary bad record” and dangerous offending warranted no sentence other than jail.
The court previously heard the seven chases in the Ararat and Swan Hill regions were either abandoned or Coad managed to avoid apprehension between September 7 and October 2 this year.
Coad drove at excessive speeds past children on two occasions and on other occasions turned his lights off while driving in an effort to hide from police.
He also mounted the nature strip on another two occasions in McLean Street, Ararat in an effort to avoid being caught.
He was an unlicensed driver at the time.
Coad was arrested after police attended his Ararat address with a warrant.
During the arrest police found ice in the accused’s car and noticed the tyres on his Commodore were bald.
In an interview with police Coad, who used ice on a daily basis, admitted he was aware his actions were dangerous and he was simply being selfish at the time.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone, I just didn’t want to get caught,” he said.
He added he made the decision to attempt to get away from police because he knew he would be locked up and he did not want to be away from his family.
His lawyer told the court Coad was under no illusion he would avoid further prison time.
She said ice had been as issue for Coad for the past six years, but he has now expressed desires to enter rehab.
He has already served 53 days.
