Dean Merlin Stapleton in court for Imbil police car chase

A 29-year-old man who led police on a short car chase through Imbil told them he’d been afraid of getting shot by somebody in the local pub.

A 29-year-old Gold Coast carpenter led police on a short car chase out of fear someone at the Imbil pub was going to shoot him, a Gympie court has heard.

Dean Merlin Stapleton pleaded guilty in Gympie Magistrates Court on Thursday to failing to provide an alcohol breath test twice and to speeding through a stop sign intersection in Imbil on April 6.

The court heard Stapleton sped down William’s St past the pub in Imbil before turning around and stopping momentarily beside police cars.

He then took off and sped through the Yabba Creek Road intersection, followed by police.

Stapleton halted at a dead end where he was arrested and displayed threatening behaviour before settling down, the court was told.

It heard that when he was arrested, Stapleton refused to provide a breath test and told police he had failed to stop because he was afraid of being shot by someone in the Railway Hotel.

He was fined $1000 and disqualified from driving for six months.