Geraldton Magistrates Court: Two men jailed over similar, but separate, high-speed police pursuits

A 36-year-old man with an “unrelenting record” including nine convictions for driving without a licence was handed a jail term of more than a year last week over a dangerous high-speed pursuit in Spalding.

Brentley Gregory Jones appeared in Geraldton Magistrates Court last Thursday via video link from Greenough Regional Prison for sentencing after pleading guilty to three offences — reckless driving exceeding the speed limit by 45km/h or more in a confiscation zone to escape pursuit, driver failing to stop, and no authority to drive. The first charge carries a mandatory six-month jail term.

The court was told after midnight on November 28, Jones reached speeds of more than 100km/h, including in some 50km/h zones, and police had to abort the pursuit as it was deemed too risky to continue.

Jones was arrested about a week later and admitted he “panicked”.

Magistrate Matthew Walton told the father of four his actions could have ended in tragic consequences for him, police, or other road users.

He imposed a total jail sentence of one year and one month, making Jones eligible for parole after serving half that term.

On the same day, another man — 21-year-old Abraham Slater — was also sentenced over a similar police pursuit including in the suburbs of Wonthella and Rangeway.

He pleaded guilty to reckless driving to escape police pursuit, failing to stop, no authority to drive, and having a blood alcohol reading in excess of 0.05. The court was told Slater reached speeds of 100km/h on residential streets with his lights turned off in the early hours of October 7.

Mr Walton said the young father of three’s actions were “outrageous”, and could have resulted in death. He sentenced Slater to one year behind bars, with parole eligibility after serving half that term.