Lachlan Wynne jailed in Gladstone court for evading police

The first time a speeding hoon evaded Central Queensland police he clocked 116kmh in a 60 zone - the third time, he was driving above 100kmh when he crashed into a light pole and a tree.

Lachlan James Barry Wynne faced Gladstone Magistrates Court on December 13.

A speeding hoon’s number was up when, at the third time of evading police, he crashed into a light pole and a tree.

Lachlan James Barry Wynne, 22, appeared in custody in Gladstone Magistrates Court on December 13 where he pleaded guilty to numerous charges including three counts of evading police, trespass, wilful damage, dangerous operation of a vehicle, and multiple counts of driving while disqualified.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Jessica McLaren said about 3am on April 27, Wynne caused damage to buildings at Kin Kora State School.

“There were windows smashed on at least two separate buildings,” Snr Const McLaren said.

The court heard that Wynne also removed an external security camera at the school’s Resource Centre, discovered damaged on the ground nearby.

The court was told that there was an attempt to enter but Wynne did not get inside.

Snr Const McLaren said Wynne told police that he had caused the damage while intoxicated after a night out with friends, and he was remorseful.

“He expressed experiencing some challenges in life and knew what he had done at the school was wrong,” she said.

Then about 2.16pm on October 28, Wynne drove while disqualified by a court and evaded police.

The court heard that police saw Wynne driving a Holden Commodore on Gladstone’s Hanson Road and after a “lights and sirens” intercept attempt, Wynne accelerated at excessive speed and got away.

Lachlan James Barry Wynne.

Snr Const McLaren said a police radar clocked Wynne doing 116kmh in a 60kmh zone and in order to get away from police, Wynne overtook another vehicle on a roundabout, putting that driver at risk.

On the same day, about 10.57pm, Wynne was driving the same car at Gladstone when police again attempted a “lights and sirens” intercept.

Wynne again sped away.

The third evasion offence involved Wynne driving a different vehicle, a ute, on Dalrymple Drive, Gladstone, about 11.30am on November 15.

Snr Const McLaren said Wynne got away from police at speeds estimated to be in excess of 100kmh, overtaking other vehicles to do so.

Soon after, police found Wynne had crashed the car after losing control of it at the intersection of Dalrymple Drive and Gladstone Benaraby Road.

Snr Const McLaren said the prosecution deemed this the most serious of Wynne’s evading offences, as he had crossed over four lanes of traffic prior to impact with a light pole and a tree.

Snr Const McLaren said Wynne ran from the crash scene before police arrived.

The court heard that Wynne had a three-page criminal record and a two-page traffic history, and some of these offences occurred while he was on a suspended sentence.

Snr Const McLaren said Wynne had numerous speeding offences on his traffic history and his “reckless behaviour was far beyond his driving experience or competence.”

Solicitor Bianca Wieland said Wynne was a single dad of one child, and he had family in court to support him.

Ms Wieland said Wynne suffered from a number of conditions, including autism and ADHD, and he had also had mental health issues.

The solicitor said Wynne had been self-medicating with cannabis since the age of 16.

Magistrate Mary Buchanan sentenced Wynne to eight months’ jail, declared 18 days’ pre-sentence custody as time already served, and fixed parole release at February 8, 2024.

She also activated the suspended sentence to run concurrently.

Wynne was also placed on 18 months’ probation and disqualified from driving for 12 years and six months.

Convictions were recorded.