A man who led police on dangerous police pursuits through the Southern Highlands that ended near Goulburn has been sent to jail for three years.
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He also broke into properties at Boxers Creek, just north of Goulburn and stole cars and other items.
Matthew Robert Breckenridge, 23, of Rothbury, was convicted of: break, enter and steal; stealing a car; police pursuit – not stop; speeding; entering enclosed lands; larceny; stalking and intending physical harm; resisting arrest; possessing ammunition; and driving while disqualified, when he appeared by audio-visual link in Goulburn Local Court on November 14.
Police facts tendered in court said between March 1 and 2 this year, Breckenridge broke into a Cessnock flat and stole cigarettes, a mobile phone and a Mitsubishi Magna.
At 9.30am on March 2, police spotted the car travelling south on the Hume Highway at Mittagong at speeds of 160km/h in a 110km/h zone.
A short time later, police spotted the Magna travelling south on the Hume Highway near Penrose Quarry and began following the car as it approached Marulan.
The car continued south towards Goulburn at speeds of up to 180km/h. The pursuit continued as the Magna overtook a truck in a gravel breakdown lane and lost control.
The vehicle crossed both southbound lanes, narrowly missing an SUV before colliding with a guardrail and continuing. Police terminated the pursuit near Narrambula Creek. The car was later recovered at Boxers Creek, 10km north of Goulburn.
About 10pm that night, a homeowner on Boxers Creek Road called police after spotting Breckenridge armed with a hammer on his property. He was lunging at a barking dog. The man asked Breckenridge not to hurt him and offered to call him a taxi to Goulburn, but Breckenridge did not reply and left the property.
Police searched the area but could not locate the man.
Just before 4am on March 3, Breckenridge broke into a Boxers Creek Road home and took a Holden Commodore. The owner contacted police.
At about 4.20am, police spotted this car as it headed north on the Hume Highway near Towrang.
Another police pursuit was initiated, but terminated for safety reasons as the Commodore reached speeds of 160km/h.
The vehicle re-entered the Hume Highway and police commenced another pursuit.
Road spikes were deployed, which were successful and the vehicle continued into Church Avenue and then into a disused rail corridor.
Breckenridge ran from the Commodore, but was tackled by police and arrested near Colo Vale Railway Station.
In court, Breckenridge’s solicitor said his client had paranoid schizophrenia.
“His failure to acknowledge his need for medication brought him into the criminal justice system,” the solicitor said.
“Incarceration has taught him to medicate himself properly. He has already served eight months in custody and if he were able to serve the rest of his sentence in the community to receive the benefit of therapy, it would help him get his life back in gear.”
But the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) disagreed, saying the offences were serious.
“It is only by pure luck that this offender is not facing more serious charges,” the DPP said.
“He put a great number of people’s lives at risk during those pursuits on the Hume Highway.
“His prospects for rehabilitation are guarded at best, depending on his ability to engage with a psychologist. He has never sought treatment for substance abuse.”
The DPP called for a sentence reflecting the “objective seriousness, the criminality and the totality of offending” and said full-time custody was warranted.
Magistrate Geraldine Beattie accepted the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.
“There is a period of you not taking prescribed medication and of addiction to drugs, particularly ice. The overall offending has covered a significant distance and some 30 hours,” she said.
“I'm going to start with the seriousness. In terms of the pursuits taking place on highways, the number of people put at risk by your driving was very significant. The high speeds were well above the limit, getting up to 180km/h.
“You had no regard for anyone else on the road.
“You also attended people’s properties and took cars, fuel, a number plate, all while you’re disqualified from driving and with drugs in your system. The vehicles you took had serious damage.”
But, she said, reports showed Breckenridge had emerging insight to his condition and was accepting all the help he could get.
She sentenced him to three years’ jail with a non-parole period of 15 months. His parole conditions include taking medication and attending drug and mental health counselling. She also disqualified him from driving for four years.