Narara: Michael David Maher pleads guilty to pursuit after foot gets pinned under police car

A young thug with a growing rap sheet found out the hard way that fleeing from the cops can be dangerous when his foot became trapped under a police car.

Michael David Maher, 31, was arrested after a police pursuit when he got his foot stuck under a police car's front wheel. Picture: Supplied

Michael David Maher has had enough of running.

The 31-year-old faced Gosford Local Court via video link on Monday where his Legal Aid solicitor said he just wanted to enter “guilty pleas to all” charges at the first opportunity.

The court heard Maher, of Narara, was on parole and still subject to an intensive corrections order when he was seen driving his girlfriend’s car while disqualified on December 14.

He managed to give police the slip for a couple of weeks but was seen again behind the wheel on New Year’s Eve.

An agreed set of facts states police were patrolling Deane St, Narara, when they pulled up along side him driving a Mitsubishi Outlander.

Michael David Maher, 31, drove through the stop-sign intersection of Deane and Hanlan streets, Narara, during a police pursuit. Picture: Google

Police activated their warning lights and sirens but he “accelerated away at speed” and sailed through a stop sign at the intersection with Hanlan St travelling about 80km/h in a 50km/h zone.

Maher turned into the drive through lane of the `Bottlo’ bottle shop at Narara where he got out and tried to flee in front of the arriving police car.

Michael David Maher, 31, drove into the Bottlo at Narara, during a police pursuit. Picture: Google

“Police exited the vehicle and took hold of the driver, before it was ascertained the driver’s foot was stuck under the front tyre of the police vehicle,” the facts state.

Police moved the car and he was arrested and taken to Gosford Hospital where he was treated for soft tissue damage to his foot.

Maher later told police “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did that. I freaked out”.

It came after police saw Maher driving his girlfriend’s Mitsubishi Outlander travelling north on Narara Valley Drive about 2pm on December 14.

The vehicle turned left into Mangrove Rd before driving onto an access road.

“Police observed the vehicle come to an abrupt stop, where the driver immediately decamped from the vehicle and ran in a westerly direction before turning left and running adjacent to number 12 Mangrove Rd down an alley way,” the facts state.

Police approached the car and saw a woman in the passenger seat they established was Amber Cheney and was the owner of the car.

She was not charged with anything and there is no suggestion she did anything wrong.

Police searched the area and saw Maher near Narara train station but couldn’t locate him.

After his arrest on December 31 he was charged with two counts of driving while suspended and failing to stop during a police pursuit.

Maher faced Gosford Local Court on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

Maher was also charged with smashing his ex-girlfriend’s iPhone after they split up and he moved out of their Woy Woy home in November.

An agreed set of facts in that matter, also tendered to court, states Maher had gone around to the house to collect his belongings before they started arguing and she threatened to call the police.

Maher took the phone from her and threw it on the ground.

On Monday the court heard Maher was on parole at the time of his arrest, having just got out of jail three months earlier for an unrelated matter and was also subject to an intensive corrections order for driving while disqualified, contravening an apprehended violence order protecting his mother, common assault and smashing his mum’s cactus plants.

The court heard Maher was living on-and-off at his mum’s Forresters Beach address in 2021 when he called her a “dog” and a “c..t” and smashed her pot plants.

Maher’s Legal Aid solicitor said his client, who appeared via video link on crutches, had learned the hard way about the risk of injury to himself and others by leading police on a pursuit.

“The police car was parked on his foot,” Maher’s Legal Aid solicitor told the court.

He said Maher’s new girlfriend Ms Cheney, who was in the car with him on December 14 and was also in court to support him, “stood by him” as a positive influence.

He said Maher also didn’t want to “waste any more time” and have the matters finalised.

However Magistrate Alan Railton said Maher, who had a lengthy criminal history, was facing “years” in jail and ordered he undergo a pre-sentence assessment before adjourning his matter to February 24.