Benjamin Millar
A man who twice drove at police at high speed while being pursued has been sentenced to more than three years in prison.
Matthew Ennis, 30, pleaded guilty in the County Court last month to charges of dangerous driving in the course of a police pursuit, conduct endangering life, reckless exposure of a police member to risk by driving and possession of a drug of dependence, as well as summary offences including drive whilst unlicenced.
The court heard police observed Ennis driving along Gibbons Road near Lara 3.28 am on December 30, 2019, behind the wheel of a silver Commodore wagon with false number plates and one of the headlights not working.
Police activated their flashing lights and their siren and Ennis performed a U-turn to face the stationary police car.
He drove towards the police car, which was forced to take evasive action to avert a collision, then fled the scene.
In the next incident around 12.15am on January 1, he was driving the same car with different ‘homemade’ registration plates and with his girlfriend also in the car.
Ennis drove through a red light in Sunshine, speeding away from pursuing police and turning off his lights.
Judge Michael Tinney said the driving over the course of the pursuit was “just ridiculous”, including hitting speeds of 180 kilometres per hour in an 80 zone and veering in and out of traffic and driving through multiple red lights at high speed.
“You endangered the life of your passenger who was pleading with you to stop, as well as many other road users,” he said.
The court heard Leading Senior Constable Craig Gibson attempted to deploy stop sticks on Somerville Road in Sunshine West when Ennis drove at him at high speed.
“You braked heavily and swerved in an arc towards him and he leapt to the right and rolled on to the road surface to try to avoid impact and he succeeded,” Judge Tinney said.
About 2.45am Ennis drove over stop sticks on the Melton Highway, yet continued to drive before abandoning the car and hiding behind a hedge in a garden at the front of a property in Hillside.
He was arrested after a struggle and taken to the police station, where an oral fluid test showed methylamphetamine in his system.
Ennis was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, with at least 19 months before he is eligible for release on parole.
