Man pleads guilty to dangerous driving after chasing woman with car in Townsville
A magistrate has condemned a man after he used his vehicle as a weapon against a woman, forcing her to run for her life.
A man has fronted court after he “terrorised” a woman, chasing her in his car around a Townsville carpark.
Ashley Phillips appeared in Proserpine Magistrates Court where it was heard a woman sustained abrasions to her knees after she was nearly hit by Phillips’ vehicle.
Police prosecutor Lynda Hughes said police were flagged down by a woman who told them the day prior Phillips had chased her with his car.
CCTV showed her running away from the vehicle which narrowly missed her, causing her to fall to road.
She ran away and tried to hide from Phillips but he continued to follow her, actively trying to pursue her.
The 38-year-old also committed two fuel drive-offs in Proserpine totalling $20 and $24.50 while he was on probation.
The court heard Phillips had a history of fraud, stealing and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
Cleo Rewald appeared on behalf of Phillips, telling the court he had an intellectual disability and underlying mental health issues.
She said he was living in his car at the time of the offending and instructed her that he was woken in the early hours of the morning to something hitting the car, he was concerned for his own safety and panicked.
Acting Magistrate Patricia Kirkman-Scroope said the CCTV footage from the carpark showed nothing of the sort and he did not report the incident to police until after he was approached by them about the incident.
Ms Rewald said the behaviour was certainly not consistent with what a reasonable person would do.
“Weaponising a vehicle is not tolerated in the community,” she said.
She noted that the vehicle did not make physical contact with the victim but accepted that but for Phillips actions she would not have fallen and been injured.
He did not have a history of violence and nothing in his traffic history suggested this was how he would ordinarily behave, Ms Rewald said.
She said he now had stable accommodation in the Whitsundays and would be remaining in the area.
Ms Kirkman-Scroope said Phillips “terrorised the victim” who was “so distressed in trying to get away she fell over” before having the “misfortune” of seeing him in shopping centre the next day.
She criticised his behaviour saying he seemed to have lied to police, blaming the victim for the incident.
“This could have ended fatally for this woman, fortunately it didn’t,” she said.
She said the fuel theft was not out of character for Phillips and it was businesses that were paying for his actions.
“It’s not out of character, this is how you roll,” she said.
The court heard Ms Kirkman-Scroope did not think his prospects of rehabilitation were good based on his history.
Phillips pleaded guilty to stealing, fraud, dangerous operation of a vehicle and possessing utensils.
He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment with an immediate parole release date and disqualified from holding a licence for six months.
Convictions were recorded for the charges of stealing, fraud and dangerous operation of a vehicle.
No conviction was recorded for possessing utensils.
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Originally published as Man pleads guilty to dangerous driving after chasing woman with car in Townsville
