Fourth time unlucky for Parkinson serial road offender

One of Queensland’s most high profile barristers saved his skin last year, but this time nothing could stop a serial road offender from escaping a jail stint.

He had a big smile on his face when he walked free from court last year after pleading guilty to driving at 146kmh down the M1, but this time appalling serial road offender Antonio Savic walked straight into a jail cell.

Richlands Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday that Savic, 30, of Parkinson, had a shocking driving history including three previous convictions for disqualified driving and a total of nine years in licence suspensions.

In 2016 he was tracked by Polair on the Gold Coast, but was found not guilty of speeding on the M1 when a magistrate ruled the helicopter vision could not be relied upon to measure speed.

Antonio Savic was all smiles after walking free from Holland Park Magistrates Court last year on a speeding charge. This time he walked straight into a jail cell.

And when the removalist, security consultant and stock market day trader faced Holland Park Magistrates Court last year his high-profile barrister Bill Potts managed to wrangle him a suspended three-month jail sentence and three-year disqualification for driving past police at 146kmh.

This time, Savic employed prominent barrister Chris Wilson to defend him on a charge of disqualified driving on August 13 this year.

Mr Wilson said Savic was trying to wash a truck, belonging to All Coast Removals, at the Logan home he shared with his mother.

Because she had a bad back and no truck licence, Savic jumped in and was attempting a U-turn so he could hose the front, but police nabbed him.

Mr Wilson argued that while his client had repeatedly breached court disqualifications, he had driven only a short distance, had put no one at risk and had never been convicted of drink driving, drug driving or dangerous operation of a vehicle.

“He effectively did a U-turn. The truck never got out of first gear,’’ he said.

“The offence is less serious than it might have been because there was no lengthy or routine driving.

“There’s no need in this case to protect the community from him.’’

Antonio Savic was found not guilty of disobeying the speed limit in the Southport Magistrates Court. Polair footage of him driving on the Gold Coast.

In his lengthy defence, Mr Wilson pointed to other cases where judges had found the severity of punishment did not automatically have to increase with each subsequent offence.

He also said defendants should not be punished on the basis of previous offending, particularly if they had not deliberately flouted the law or shown dangerous culpability.

But Magistrate Stuart Shearer dismissed those arguments, saying that contempt of a court’s ruling was serious and that no one would obey court orders if they knew there was no punishment for doing so.

“He’s (Savic) currently subject to a cumulative nine years’ disqualification — a further disqualification is meaningless to him,’’ Mr Shearer said.

“He’s demonstrated, yet again, his contempt for the court.

“There comes a point where the court cannot tolerate continued contempt. The piper must be paid.

Polair footage of Antonio Savic driving on the Gold Coast.

“The reality is a court-ordered disqualification is not a request, it’s an order.

“Disqualified driving is an offence dealt with every single day in this court. Only in the last hour, I have dealt with another.’’

Mr Shearer told Savic he was effectively serving two prison sentences in the community at the time of his latest offence.

“How even that could not deter you from driving is astonishing,’’ he said.

“If the community had any idea of how prevalent drink driving, drug driving and disqualified driving is they would be horrified.’’

Mr Shearer activated Savic’s suspended prison sentence and did not set a parole release date.

He convicted Savic, who pleaded guilty to one count of disqualified driving, and disqualified him from driving for a further three years.