Matthew Court, 32: Dubbo man sentenced for driving charges including police pursuit

A Dubbo firefighter and local identity was drunk when he led police on a high speed chase reaching speeds of 190km/h. Hear his sentence from court.

Matthew Court leaving Dubbo Local Court after his sentencing.

A “hardworking” and “contributing member of the community” took police on a wild pursuit after a night out in Dubbo reaching speeds of 190km/h.

Matthew Court appeared in Dubbo Local Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to driving recklessly, a police pursuit, driving with a high range PCA and exceeding the speed by more than 45km/h.

The 32-year-old, who works in the mining industry along with being a retained firefighter, was driving home to Dunedoo on the Golden Highway after a night of drinking in Dubbo when he was followed by police for swerving into the right lane.

The incident occurred between 1.15am and 1.30am in October 2022 when Court was driving “recklessly”.

Agreed facts tendered to the court revealed Court disregarded the police while increasing his speed to 150km/h to overtake a semi-trailer and further increasing his speed to approximately 190km/h.

According to the facts, Court was driving on the “incorrect” side of the road and “almost lost control” of the car during the pursuit.

Once Court eventually stopped, police asked him to get out of the vehicle and he responded “you’re kidding, aren’t you?” the facts state.

Court appeared at Dubbo Local Court.

His solicitor Phillip Gibson said he understood the “seriousness of the offence” but called for his client to receive a lesser sentence.

Mr Gibson indicated the time frame of the incident meant there was “less traffic on the road” and “less of a chance of a collision”.

“He had no passengers in the car,” Mr Gibson said.

He said Court was a contributing member to both the Dunedoo and Dubbo communities.

Mr Gibson confirmed Court has been abstinent from alcohol and has attended counselling sessions since the incident.

“He has put things in place so that this doesn’t happen again,” Mr Gibson said.

Magistrate Greg Grogin slammed Court for his dangerous behaviour and “putting lives at risk”.

“These are all very serious offences,” Mr Grogin said.

“This is totally unacceptable in the community. You’re obviously disappointed in what you’ve done.”

Mr Grogin reminded Court of the hard work he had done in the community and to not let this incident define his future.

“You have to live with what you’ve done, but let the good things continue – you have so much to look forward to,” he said.

Court was sentenced to an Intensive Corrections Order (ICO) for 14 months. An ICO is the equivalent of a jail term served in the community.

He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined $1200.