Jordon Whitelock: Tweed man sentenced for car chase, attempted theft

The young man drove at speeds of 200km/h in the stolen vehicle before crashing into another car and fleeing the scene in a ‘reprehensible’ action, according to a Lismore judge.

A Tweed Heads man with a “depressing” history of stealing was on conditional liberty when he decided to traipse into a home and steal car keys for a high speed joy ride, a court has heard.

Jordon Whitelock, 20, was sentenced for the aggravated entry of a dwelling with intent to commit a serious indictable offence in Lismore District Court on Tuesday.

He was also sentenced for related charges including two counts of being carried in a conveyance without the owner’s consent, two counts of driving unlicensed, attempting to steal a motor vehicle, engaging in a police pursuit, driving recklessly and not providing details after being involved in a motor vehicle accident.

The court heard the charges related to a number of events over the course of April last year.

A resident woke up to Whitelock trying to take two motorcycles from his property in the early hours of April 14, the court heard from agreed facts.

The offender told police he was trying to “get the big one” to take for a ride and later ditch, said Judge Jonathan Priestley.

He remarked that “like most of this offending, this has the unmistakable ring of absolute stupidity and pointlessness about it”.

Whitelock then ignited a police chase on April 27 when he was seen driving a white Landover suspiciously in the Cudgen area.

Police activated sirens and lights but Whitelock took off a high speed, reaching up to 120km/h in a designated 80 km/h zone and crossing onto the incorrect side of the road.

Jordon Whitelock was sentenced before Lismore District Court on Monday.

However, the height of Whitelock’s offending would occur when he entered the open home of a Kingscliff resident, went inside and stole a set of car keys on April 30.

The court heard Whitelock and co-accused then took the home’s AMG Mercedes and drove away.

Whitelock drove through the Cudgen tunnel at self-confessed speeds of 200km/h before crashing into another car at about 4am, the court heard.

Judge Priestley said Whitelock had told police “I thought we were like dead because the impact was that bad.”

Despite this, Whitelock did not go to help the other driver, instead he told police he “just seen if the boys were all right” referring to his fellow co-accused before leaving to avoid arrest.

The other driver, a 21-year-old, suffered head and whiplash injuries following the crash.

It was an action that angered Judge Priestley, given Whitelock was on conditional liberty at the time.

“All he does is get out of there which I consider reprehensible,” he said.

Judge Priestley acknowledged Whitelock had suffered a brain injury and other traumatic factors growing up.

At year nine, he was expelled from school which according to psychologist opinion could have led to Whitelock’s “anti social” peer groups, the court heard.

The acting Lismore judge further accepted the majority of offences were “not planned and largely opportunistic”.

In sentencing Judge Priestley pointed to Whitelock’s “uninspiring if not depressing” criminal history which included numerous like offences.

“It’s suffice to say his criminal history shows he doesn’t have any leniency,” he said.

“Not only that, it’s so repetitive it clearly demands a heightened amount of specific deterrents.”

He sentenced Whitelock to an aggregate sentence of 18 months, backdated to May 20 with a non-parole period of 14 months.

The sentence meant Whitelock would be eligible for release on Tuesday.

For the charges of being carried in a conveyance without the owner’s consent and attempting to steal a motor vehicle, Whitelock was placed under a community corrections order for two years, expiring on July 18, 2024.

For the unlicensed driving and not providing details after being involved in a motor vehicle accident he was convicted but not further punished.

Whitelock will also be disqualified from a licence for 12 months.