Luke Taylor: Bodybuilder sentenced for drug supply, police pursuit
A Sydney dial-a-dealer who erratically attempted to weave in and out of traffic when he was busted by police in Sydney’s CBD said he turned to crime after a lull in his industry and with pressure to support his sick brother.
Central Sydney
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A small-time drug dealer who led police on a wild car chase through crowded streets in Sydney’s CBD last year has been banned from driving for three years.
When Luke Taylor was finally caught, detectives found cocaine and $1200 in cash inside his vehicle.
He had panicked when a plain clothes officer knocked on his driver’s side window about 6.45pm on November 29, 2019, moments after a drug deal had taken place.
Taylor set off down the wrong side of the road along Pitt St, onto George St, wove between cars on Margaret St, before coming into contact with a police car on York St, where he was arrested.
The 29-year-old spent nearly three months in custody following his arrest, before being granted an emotional release on bail after news of his brother’s death in February.
He was on Wednesday convicted of drug supply, police pursuit and dealing with the proceeds of crime at Downing Centre Local Court.
Supported in court by his mother, the bodybuilder had earlier pleaded guilty to the charges.
Self-employed as a road line marker, the man from Harrington Park was described as a “very hardworking man” by his lawyer Anthony Barber.
The court heard Taylor began working as a dial-a-dealer as his industry was in a lull and he felt pressured to look after his brother, whose illness had weighed heavily on his mind.
“He can’t excuse it, but his thought process was not as clear as it should be,” Mr Barber said.
“His life fell apart very quickly … but he’s been a person of very good character apart from that couple of months there.”
Magistrate Michael Antrum said that Taylor’s actions had left him “standing on the precipice” of returning to jail.
Although he had not exceeded 50km/h during the chase, Magistrate Antrum said leading police on a pursuit had placed the safety of innocent motorists and pedestrians at risk.
“Speed is not the only determination of danger,” he said. “There was undoubted danger in your actions, Mr Taylor.”
Magistrate Antrum conceded that missing the death of his brother while in custody had been “additional burden” on Taylor.
“I hope that you come to review now, particularly that you’ve had a taste (of custody) it’s an experience you won’t want to repeated any time soon,” he said.
Taylor was handed a 15-month community corrections order for drug supply, and a seven-month intensive corrections order for the police pursuit.