Konrad Szalontai, 30, appeared in court on Monday after pleading guilty to offending in January this year.

According to a police brief, seen by The Courier, two police officers observed a black Jeep station wagon on Smythes Road in Delacombe on January 27, 2021.

Police took up a position behind the car and noticed an "obscured registration plate" that had been altered.

Police then activated their lights and sirens and directed the driver to pull over but the car sped off and then started "dangerously" overtaking other cars, swerving between lanes and at times driving towards incoming traffic.

Police called off the intercept "out of fear for public safety".

Three days later, two different police officers were conducting divisional van duties in Ballarat when they observed a black Jeep station wagon parked on Howitt Street in Wendouree.

Police pulled up behind the car before it started to drive forward.

"..Police, under the belief the driver was attempting to decamp, secured the driver from the vehicle," the brief reads.

Szalontai was the driver and had a female passenger.

He immediately admitted to having cannabis and methylamphetamine in the car.

A search found quantities of the drugs as well as tools and equipment believed to be used to steal, a large axe, a knife and a homemade device believed to be a firearm.

Equipment used to produce fake documents, including licences and credentials, was also found along with a steel cylinder with steel caps screwed to each end believed to be used for creating a pipe bomb.

The front registration plate on the car was found to be fake and Szalontai admitted to being a 'L' plate driver, not displaying the plates nor having an experienced person present in the car.

He admitted to being the owner of all the items in a police interview and said he had been the only driver of the car within the week. However, in the interview he denied being the driver of the car on January 27 but could not say who it was.

On Monday, Magistrate Noreen Toohey said Szalontai had a "shocking" 11-page criminal history.

He was released on a community corrections order for 18 months with conditions to attend treatment and rehabilitation in relation to mental health issues and drug and alcohol abuse.

"Ultimately it's up to you, Mr Szalontai. If you don't comply and commit further offences you can expect to go back to custody."

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