Somersby: Marni Scowen pleads guilty to police pursuit with chihuahua wearing a tuxedo
A serial suspended driver has pleaded guilty to leading police on a pursuit in her Mercedes with a dapper-looking chihuahua dressed in a blue tuxedo in the back seat, a court has heard.
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Move over Paris Hilton, a Kincumber woman has taken the fashion accessory of small dogs to a whole new level after she was busted leading police on a wild pursuit with a chihuahua in a blue tuxedo and luggage in the back of her Mercedes.
Marni Scowen, 36, faced Gosford Local Court on Thursday where she pleaded guilty to two counts of driving while disqualified, failing to stop for a police pursuit, negligent driving, not exchanging particulars after a crash, possessing a prohibited drug and trespassing.
The court heard Scowen had four previous convictions for driving while disqualified, two for driving while suspended and was already on an intensive corrections order until November 2023 for further driving offences.
An agreed set of facts states police were patrolling Strickland Forest Rd at Somersby when they noticed a white Mercedes parked at the Banksia Lookout at 7.10am on December 14.
Officers saw Scowen in the driver’s seat and another woman, also known to police, in the passenger seat.
Police approached the vehicle and asked the occupants to get out but Scowen put the car into reverse and started to move away.
The facts state police opened the passenger door of the moving car and demanded the passenger get out, to which she replied “no, get f..ked”.
“At this time, police also observed a small white/golden chihuahua dog dressed in a blue tuxedo outfit in the back seat of the vehicle with luggage bags,” the facts state.
The other woman got out and blocked police as they got back in their car to go after Scowen.
Police followed Scowen as she hit speeds of 130km/h through the streets of Somersby, crossing onto the wrong side of the road, before officers lost sight of her in the vicinity of Wisemans Ferry Rd.
The pursuit had travelled a distance of about 17km in seven minutes.
Police patrolled the area for some time before finding the car “heavily concealed and hidden under a tree” off Hallards Rd.
Officers approached a nearby property and were informed by a resident a woman was hiding in a detached home office.
“Police entered the office where the accused was crouched hiding behind a desk in the office, holding the white/golden chihuahua dog dressed in a blue tuxedo outfit, a mobile phone and a single Mercedes car key,” the facts state.
Scowen was arrested and later found to be also in possession of 1.45g of Buprenorphine.
The court heard Scowen had been on the run since October 29 when she failed to report as part of her bail conditions.
An agreed set of facts states Scowen had been seen driving a black Subaru erratically that morning “swerving all over the road” before crashing into a parked car on Tumbi Rd about 8.40am.
“All witnesses observed the driver of the black Subaru, the accused, to exit the vehicle, she was said to be stumbling,” the facts state.
“They made observations that she was a chubby build wearing a pink bikini with black hair and a tattoo visible below her left buttock.
“The female passenger had blonde hair and was also wearing a bikini.”
Scowen and her passenger were seen grabbing items from the car, including a small dog.
“Both females were observed to be unsteady on their feet and slurring words,” the facts state.
“The witnesses all believe they were affected by drugs or alcohol.”
The facts state Scowen was seen to enter a nearby backyard “behaving erratically” but left the area before police arrived.
Scowen was refused bail to appear again for sentence on February 2.
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