Jamie Scott Dempsey jailed for escaping custody while serving prison term on home detention
An offender serving part of his jail term on home detention cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet within a week of leaving prison, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
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A criminal released from prison to serve the remainder of his sentence on home detention bail cut off his bracelet and was “at large” for 109 days in a “deliberate defiance” of the legal system, a court has heard.
Jamie Scott Dempsey, 37, was jailed for three and a half years for recklessly causing harm to two police officers as they tried to arrest him near his home at Parkside on November 8, 2020.
He was granted “administrative release” from the Cadell Training Centre on June 21, 2022, to serve the balance of his jail term on home detention but cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet six days later.
He was rearrested after police spotted him riding a bike along Hackney Rd last October.
In sentencing in the Adelaide Magistrates Court earlier in April, Magistrate Joanna Martin said Dempsey also breached other conditions while serving his home detention including consuming alcohol and not going straight home upon release.
“Your conduct is considered escaping from prison,” Ms Martin said.
“You were serving a prison sentence in the community and you were given the benefit of doing so in a home environment.
“It may not have been the perfect home environment but I’m not sure whether you would suggest that it was a worse environment than where you came from.”
Ms Martin told Dempsey that his conduct was a “serious crime” and a “blatant disregard” of the home detention conditions, which would impact the ability of Correctional Services to afford others similar leniency.
“Your release into the community was a privilege,” she said.
She said Dempsey had told the court he went to Hindley St Police Station a few days after cutting off his bracelet, but no warrant was issued.
He did not present himself to Correctional Services, despite living nearby to a department office.
“There may not have been a warrant issued for your arrest, but you were fully aware that you had cut off your (monitoring) bracelet and you chose to remain at large,” Ms Martin said
She said he did not offend while on the run, but the court heard he had a “lengthy” criminal history of more than 30 convictions, including seven for breaching bail.
During the November 2020 offending, for which he was in custody before cutting off his bracelet, Dempsey pushed and punched two police officers – including knocking out one officer’s tooth – as they went to arrest him for damaging cars.
He initially fled, but returned to the officers to collect a box of chocolates he wanted to give his girlfriend before his actions sparked a three-hour stand-off with STAR Group officers.
After a discount for his plea Ms Martin extended Dempsey’s existing head sentence by 13.5 months, taking his total head sentence to four years and seven months.
She extended his non-parole period by 10 months to three years and four months.