A 20 year old man who evaded police twice in a day and also pleaded guilty to a raft of firearm offences walked out of the Launceston Magistrates Court on Friday after being given the chance to avoid further jail via drug treatment order.
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Heath Alexander Carter, of Ravenswood, pleaded guilty to two counts of evading police, possessing a controlled drug, possessing a stolen firearm and ammunition and a number of other charges.
Police prosecutor Jack Fawdry said that on January 17, 2022 at about 8.15am, Carter was seen by police in Waverley standing next to a vehicle.
He entered the vehicle, reversed and began driving west. Police attempted to intercept him.
"The vehicle was observed travelling at speeds in excess of 100km/h on the wrong side of the road and overtaking cars and narrowly avoiding a collision," Mr Fawdry said.
The court was told police disengaged the pursuit.
Later that morning, an unmarked police vehicle spotted Carter driving in Effingham street.
"Police activated their emergency sirens and the defendant accelerated at speed and mounted a kerb and drove past police and on the wrong side of the road," Mr Fawdry said.
Sometime later, the vehicle was observed to be abandoned in the Launceston CBD.
At 11.30am, Carter was identified as a passenger in a taxi and was taken to Launceston police.
CCTV checks had revealed Carter was seen walking in Launceston with a backpack which contained a shortened double barrel shotgun with nine shotgun cartridges, a small quantity of cannabis and a smoking pipe.
The court was also told of an attempt by Carter to steal a car in Frederick Street on the same day.
"The car was unlawfully entered," Mr Fawdry said. "The glove box was searched through. A blade from a pair of scissors had been jammed in an ignition barrel in an attempt to steal the vehicle."
A DNA analysis by police was able to match the pair of scissors to Carter.
Around 11am, October 14, 2022 police attended a unit and located Carter under the covers of a bed with his partner and partner's children.
"There was information the defendant may have been involved in a shooting in Waverley," Mr Fawdry said.
A search of the house revealed a firearm which had been stolen. Carter was found in possession of a shortened Acciaio 410 shotgun and ammunition.
Magistrate Evan Hughes said that he regarded the January 17, 2022 evade police incidents as Carter's second evade police after a previous one in 2018.
He said that an evade police offence by Carter in July 2021 had not been sentenced until April 27, 2022 so he regarded it coming after the January offence.
He sentenced Carter to four months' jail for the Waverley offence backdated to October 15, 2022 and two months' suspended jail for the Effingham St offence allowing Carter to walk free.
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On the balance of matters, Mr Hughes sentenced Carter to a drug treatment order. It allows Carter to avoid six months' jail as long as he complies with the order, stays off drugs and alcohol, and commits no imprisonable offence.
Mr Hughes said that Carter had chosen the more difficult path of getting off drugs rather than serving a jail sentence.
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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.
