Brayden Anthony Lovett in court after driving dangerously, police chases

One of his 27 crimes was to drive so dangerously through the inner streets of Gympie while police were trying to stop him that they were forced to call off the chase for the safety of the community. Read what happened:

Aerial photograph of Gympie city showing the area around Fiveways at the intersection of Mary, Mellor and Lawrence Sts and Calton and Caledonian Hills. A jobless Monkland man who led police on two wild chases - one through the inner streets of Gympie and one on the Gold Coast - drove so dangerously that police were forced to call off both chases.

A jobless Monkland man who led police on two wild chases - one through the inner streets of Gympie and one on the Gold Coast - drove so dangerously that police were forced to call off both chases.

The serial disqualified driver was convicted and jailed after pleading guilty while already in custody at the Gympie Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Brayden Anthony Lovett, 28, had been in pre-sentencing custody for 188 days, and was convicted of 27 offences, including twice operating a car dangerously, evading police, wilful damage of his monitoring device and 12 counts of disqualified driving.

The court heard that on Saturday, August 28, 2021, police were stationary in a marked police car on Caledonian Hill, one of the busiest streets in Gympie, when they noticed a blue Holden Commodore sedan drive past, with Lovett in the driver’s seat.

Officers recognised Lovett as he was flagged for observation so they did a u-turn, put their siren on and followed him, the court heard.

They tried to stop him at the Fiveways roundabout in the Gympie CBD, but Lovett took off up Lawrence St on the wrong side of the road, overtaking another car, and police were forced to end the chase due to QPS policy.

The next day, on August 29, 2021, police were tipped off that Lovett was in an underground car park at the Paradise Island resort at Surfers Paradise.

When they arrived at the car park, Lovett saw them and took off through a gap of parked cars, colliding with an unmarked police car as he successfully exited the car park.

Police said he then drove on the opposite side of the road, ran a red light on Paradise Island Road on to the Gold Coast highway and sped south on the highway.

Brayden Anthony Lovett, 28, had been in pre-sentencing custody for 188 days, and was convicted of 27 offences, including twice operating a car dangerously, evading police, wilful damage of his monitoring device and 12 counts of disqualified driving.

His driving was so dangerous police were again forced to abandon their chase, but they continued to track him through Gold Coast City Council safety cameras.

Lovett ran multiple red lights along the highway and side swiped other motorists, the court heard. He also drove into the G-Link light rail tram line.

The court was told Lovett had previously been imprisoned for disqualified driving and was on parole at the time of these offences.

Magistrate Graham Hillan said Lovett had “displayed a complete disregard to driving a motor vehicle in accordance to the law”.

“I consider that the only option on this occasion is terms of imprisonment,” Mr Hillan said.

Lovett was sentenced to 18-months jail and will be eligible for parole on June 17, 2022. His licence was disqualified absolutely and his car forfeited to the crown.