A NOWRA man who led police on two pursuits in the Shoalhaven while being unlicensed and disqualified from driving and faced a string of other charges has been jailed for three years.
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Drew Gregory Craig, 19, pleaded not guilty to police pursuit, never being licensed, driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle and displaying misleading number plates following an incident in Nowra on August 6, 2016.
Police said around 6.30pm Craig, who was wanted on three outstanding warrants, was spotted driving a vehicle in Journal Street, Nowra.
Police activated lights and sirens but the pursuit continued through a number of East Nowra streets and through parts of Worrigee.
During the pursuit the vehicle reached speeds ranging from 70km/h and 100km/h in a 50 zone and up to 110km/h in a 60km/h area.
Police said at one stage Craig drove for 300-400 metres without headlights on Worrigee Road before stopping.
A passenger ran from the vehicle while Craig found by police in nearby bushland.
A bag allegedly belonging to Craig was found in the car which contained .33 grams of methamphetamine and .55 grams of a green vegetable matter.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a prohibited drug.
He also pleaded not guilty to charges of reckless driving, driving while disqualified and exceeding the speed limit by 20km/h following an incident at Sanctuary Point on February 17 this year.
Around 10.10am police on mobile patrols spotted Craig in a vehicle in Kingsford Smith Drive.
Court papers said the vehicle drove at high speed into Paradise Beach Road and Cessna and Chipmunk avenues before colliding with the wall of a property.
Craig and a passenger ran from the vehicle and managed to elude police
Craig, who had been identified during the pursuit, was arrested two days later when he attended Nowra Police Station to report as part of his bail conditions.
He also pleaded not guilty to taking and driving a car, possessing implements used for entering a vehicle, two counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception and destroying property.
Court papers said on June 28, 2016, Craig and another young male broke into a Toyota Hilux parked outside a business in Worrigee Street, Nowra around 9.35pm.
The pair were interrupted during the act and were captured on CCTV running towards the Roxy Cinema in Berry Street, Nowra.
Police found the pair at the intersection of Junction and Berry streets not long after with their shirts off despite the temperature being below 10 degrees.
The tracksuit pants they were wearing and shirts they carried matched what was seen on CCTV.
They claimed to have been in a fight with a person in Lawrence Avenue.
A search of the area by police discovered a number of items of clothing, a mobile phone, a large ball hammer and tools hidden near the Roxy Cinema.
Police also found a Mastercard which had been stolen during a break and enter in Nowra earlier in the day.
Police also obtained CCTV footage of the pair using the stolen card to purchase food from Subway in Nowra.
Magistrate Gabriel Fleming sentenced Craig to three years’ jail from October 3, 2016, with a non-parole period of 12 months.
He will be eligible for release on October 2.
