Damning dash cam video sees street racing mechanic guilty

A police camera captured a young apprentice mechanic in an illegal street race but it’s what happened in court that will surprise.

An apprentice mechanic and car enthusiast was caught red-handed in a street race and admitted his involvement before pleading not guilty to the charges.

Paralowie man Joshua Michael Pump was on Monday the sole witness called by defence as the 21-year-old fought the aggravated charge of drive a motor vehicle in a street race in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court.

But the writing was on the wall early for Pump as the prosecutor produced police dashcam footage showing his red Honda Accord loudly accelerating alongside a black Volkswagen Golf and then speeding off along Military Road at Tennyson about 9pm on August 7.

The footage was followed by video from the police officer’s body-worn camera showing Pump admitting to being involved in a street race.

“Is there any reason you were engaged in a street race?” the officer asked Pump.

“Stupidity - it was pretty stupid, to be honest,” Pump responded.

“When I stopped racing I saw you.

“I looked down and I was doing 70.”

The interaction came after Pump saw the police car in his rear vision mirror before slowing down and making a turn off Military Road onto a dead end street where he waited for almost 30 minutes – something he said he did in “shock” after seeing the police lights.

He came undone when the police officer was still waiting down the road while he processed the other driver, his co-accused Calin May – who pleaded guilty to a basic charge of street racing.

The police officer told the court he had initially clocked the racers travelling at 78km/h but when he pulled out to pursue them they were going “in excess of 100km/h”.

Joshua Michael Pump's red Honda Accord he was found to be involved in a street race while driving. Picture: Facebook

Craig Caldicott, for Pump, told Magistrate Luke Davis the speed recorded by the officer was in relation to the other car and his client had simply accelerated too hard after a nearby set of lights went green.

Mr Davis rejected the defence’s case and Pump’s evidence and found the “would-be street racer” guilty.

“(He was) an untruthful witness whose evidence bordered on the fanciful and was self-serving and I reject his evidence pretty much in its entirety,” Mr Davis said.

“It’s a serious offence - and it doesn’t take an Einstein to work out why.”

The charge Pump faced had the potential to carry with it a five-year prison sentence and a licence disqualification of three years.

Instead Mr Davis disqualified Pump’s licence for three years, sentenced him to a 12-month good behaviour bond and did not record a conviction.

“Young men make dumb, stupid decisions often on the spur of the moment and regret them later - you’ve got a life ahead of you,” Mr Davis said.