James Kemsley junior jailed for car theft, police pursuit

The son of the cartoonist who drew the iconic Ginger Meggs comic strip stole a car from a staff member of the Ivy nightclub and ended up being dragged from the wrecked vehicle.

The son of a famous Australian cartoonist has been labelled a “huge danger” to the public and jailed for stealing a car and leading police on a pursuit through Bowral.

James Frederick Kemsley, 34, appeared via video link in Moss Vale Local Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to two counts of larceny, stealing a motor vehicle, having goods in his custody suspected of being stolen, entering enclosed land without a lawful excuse, driving despite never holding a valid drivers licence, and activating a police pursuit.

It was heard in court Kemsley is the son of famed Australian cartoonist James Kemsley, who produced the classic comic Ginger Meggs.

James Frederick Kemsley was jailed for car theft and a police pursuit through Bowral. Picture: Facebook

The court heard the Moss Vale resident has been in trouble with the law before, with police facts labelling him a “recidivist offender” who poses “a huge danger to the safety of the general public”.

According to the facts, the offences began on the night of May 9, when Kemsley entered the Ivy nightclub in Sydney and was captured on CCTV rummaging through the bags of employees in the staff locker room.

Police were called but the facts show they only found a car key on him. The facts show the key was reported stolen later that night when the victim noticed her key was missing and saw Kemsley driving off in her car. Despite chasing the car in a taxi, facts show she didn’t recover her car.

Two days later, Kemsley drove past police in the stolen car on Bowral’s main street. Police activated the warning signs, but facts show Kemsley crossed the double lines and narrowly avoided a collision with an oncoming car to turn onto Merrigang St.

Police took chase as he ignored a stop sign, driving the wrong way down Station St and through a red light and across a roundabout. Facts show Kemsley cut through a carpark and then sped through a service station forecourt, narrowly missing a pedestrian before he again drove on the wrong side of the road.

James Frederick Kemsley led police on a wild chase along Bong Bong St and throughout Bowral. Picture: Wesley Lonergan

According to police, he mounted a kerb on Wingecarribee St to avoid traffic, squeezing past a parked car, and running another red light. At this point, police facts show they were forced to abandon the chase.

Around 15 minutes later, police again spotted Kemsley in the stolen car driving down Boardman Rd. According to the facts, he tried to evade police by crossing the unbroken lines and trying to head south on Old South Rd.

Police say Kemsley “lost control” of the car, mounting the kerb and crashing into a power pole. However the facts show he refused to give in, pushing his foot down on the accelerator when police approached the damaged car in an attempt to speed off.

Police facts say officers yelled at him to exit the car, but he refused. According to police facts, officers were forced to draw a firearm and smash the windows of the car “(d)ue to extreme danger to the attending police, community and other road users”.

Police facts show officers grabbed Kemsley and removed him from the car, placing him under arrest. When they searched the car, court documents reveal police found the wallet of the victim, as well as two other purses reported stolen from Mittagong and Moss Vale.

James Frederick Kemsley’s father, the late James Kemsley, was a cartoonist for Ginger Meggs.

The court heard Kemsley committed the “raft of offences” when he was not complying with his medication plan for his mental health.

Magistrate Mark Douglass said reports made it clear Kemsley needed to abide by a medication schedule.

“He has needs in relation to having a strict regime in relation to compliance with medication,” he said.

“Like many people living with mental illness, it’s complicated.”

Magistrate Douglass said, despite the special circumstances, community safety “must be of paramount consideration” to the court.

He sentenced Kemsley to 12 months imprisonment with a six-month non-parole period and a year-long community treatment order. He also imposed a three-year community corrections order with conditions to accept all mental health treatment as directed. Kemsley is also disqualified from driving for three years, despite never having held a drivers license.