Christian James Sanderson: Serial dodgy driver sentenced to jail in Warwick court after cop pursuit

A man with an ‘extremely poor’ driving history who sped away from police and was busted hiding at his own workplace in a desperate attempt to avoid detection has been sentenced in the Warwick court to jail. FULL REPORT HERE:

A serial disqualified driver has been sentenced to jail after he racked up yet another string of traffic offences while speeding away from Warwick police in a desperate attempt to avoid detection.

Christian James Sanderson first caught police attention on May 8 when he put 45.7L of unleaded petrol into his car at a Coles Express service station in Stapylton, hopping straight back into his vehicle and fleeing the scene without paying.

Police prosecutor Andrew Grafton told Warwick Magistrates Court that Sanderson was eventually identified using CCTV footage and told officers he knew he did not have enough money to pay at the time.

It took Sanderson less than two weeks to run into strife again, with police spotting the 21-year-old driving along McEvoy St with a disqualified licence and a car with false number plates attached.

Sergeant Grafton said police activated their lights and sirens, which prompted Sanderson to speed straight through a roundabout onto Old Stanthorpe Rd and continue accelerating away.

He told the court that Sanderson managed to avoid detection for the best part of an hour before he was eventually tracked down hiding in a stack of tyres at Bridgestone Tyres, where he was employed and police were interviewing witnesses at the time.

“When asked why he didn’t stop, he said he was disqualified and the car was unregistered and uninsured,” Sergeant Grafton said.

The Warwick court heard Sanderson was subject to two court-ordered licence disqualifications and a demerit points suspension at the time of the offending, and his criminal history showed previous convictions for fraud and stealing.

Sanderson said he was going through an extremely difficult period in his life at the time, still reeling from the sudden death of “the closest person to a brother” at the beginning of the year and then finding out his grandmother had fallen ill only months later.

He said he moved to Warwick for a fresh start and had been walking to his workplace every day, and thought it would be fine to drive on this one occasion.

“Obviously it wasn’t, I shouldn’t have done it. It was a mistake on my behalf and I know this,” Sanderson said.

“There’s not really much to it other than I f —ked up – excuse my language – but I knew from the moment I got in the vehicle that if I was caught driving, it was possible I would be going to jail for it.

“It’s not what anyone wants to go to jail for, driving to work, but it is what it is.”

Sanderson told the Warwick court he was fired from Bridgestone after using the workshop as his hiding place from police, and was now working at the Big W distribution centre and putting up a friend and her daughter who had nowhere else to live.

“I’m not trying to make anyone feel sorry for me. That history you have in front of you, it’s not who I am anymore,” he said.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess told Sanderson it would be hard to argue he had undergone a complete change of heart given the offences occurred only weeks before his court appearance, but acknowledged his remorse and early pleas of guilty.

She said the young man’s “extremely poor” traffic history and criminal record gave her no choice but to sentence him to four months and 50 days in jail, with legislation requiring Sanderson to actually spend the 50 days tied to the evade offence behind bars.

“You were well aware of the consequences of driving to work but you took that risk anyway, and of course when you saw the police car, you evaded police and then actively hid from them,” Ms Sturgess said.

“You have been persistently throwing your licence away by committing traffic offences.

“If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll be looking forward to a future of longer and longer disqualifications and longer and longer jail terms.”

Sanderson pleaded guilty to one count each of evading police, disqualified driving, stealing, driving an uninsured and unregistered vehicle, and driving a vehicle with false number plates.

He will be eligible for parole from August 2. Sanderson was also disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to pay full restitution.