A 25-year-old who had evaded police 16 times over 10 years was jailed after a drug treatment order was cancelled in the Launceston Magistrates court.
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Drew Alexander Jones was given a chance in February to avoid a seven-month jail term if he stopped committing offences and stayed off drugs. He had written a three-page letter asking magistrate Sharon Cure to look deep into her heart and give him another chance.
He had been given a previous chance in November 2023 but was arrested in Mowbray in December after a targeted police operation.
His second drug treatment order was based on the north west coast.
Jones pleaded guilty to several driving charges, possession of ammunition, breaches of bail in December and a family violence order and was sentenced on Thursday.
Police prosecutor Luke Murfitt-Cowen said Jones had used an illicit drug on December 13 while he was out of jail on the order.
He evaded police in Burnie on March 7 and Shearwater on March 14 when he should not have been driving. On the second occasion, he fled into bushland at Northdown.
When found, he had a ziplock bag of methylamphetamine and rounds of .22 ammunition.
In a sentencing submission, Mr Murfitt-Cowen said the evading police charges were Jones' 15th and 16th instances.
"Each evade puts the public at risk, and this defendant needs specific deterrence because he continues to evade police despite previous prison sentences," he said.
Evading police is the attempt to avoid interception by police, often when lights and sirens have been activated.
Defence counsel Hannah Phillips said the latest evade police incidents were short-duration and did not involve dangerous driving.
Mr Murfitt-Cowen said the Burnie evade covered two km, and the Shearwater one was 5.5km.
She said Jones had a significant flight response when it came to police after a confrontation with Tasmania Police's special operations group at the Newstead Hotel, which involved bulldozing of a car and beanbag pellets.
She said a complaint had been made to Tasmania Police but SOG officers did not wear body worn camera and the complaint went nowhere.
Magistrate Sharon Cure said Jones posed a difficult sentencing problem.
"I've tried to give weight to rehabilitation only to be frustrated by what happens," she said.
She took into account Jones' age, the possible crushing effect of a long sentence, the amount of time he had already spent in jail in his life, and the significant effect of the appalling background he suffered.
Ms Cure said Jones had shown some signs of wanting to change his life.
"On the other side of the coin there is his serious history and these are serious offences and the risk to the community and diversion of police resources must be considered," she said.
She cancelled the drug treatment order and restored all seven month of the custodial component and added five months' jail for the aggravated evade.
Ms Cure said Jones must serve half the sentence [six months] before being eligible for parole. The sentence was backdated to January 27 to take account of time in custody.
The court heard that Jones had already received a five year disqualification to 2028 but added a further two years taking him through to 2030.
Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
