Bradley Ioannou jailed for police chase from Windsor to Baulkham Hills

A young dad was lucky he didn’t kill himself or somebody else in a crazy police chase across north west Sydney which has been described as being like something out of a 70s cop show.

A man put lives of the police and public in danger in a devastating crime spree which was compared in court to being like something out of the TV show Dukes of Hazzard.

Bradley Ioannou, 20, led police on a wild car chase through northwest Sydney on Christmas Day last year, eventually ending the pursuit on foot after police took out his tyres.

Penrith Court heard the “madness” began when Ioannou stole a car in Londonderry on the night of December 25.

Court documents reveal the victim of the stolen car had been subject to a break and enter some days earlier, when a number of car keys were stolen from his house.

The Londonderry resident last saw his car at around 10:30pm on Christmas Day.

Soon after, police in South Windsor noticed the car dangerously overtake them.

The driver, Ioannou, came to a stop when police turned on their sirens.

But he then “rammed the front of the unmarked police vehicle” and then “moved forward, re-engaged reverse gear and again rammed the front of the police vehicle,” court documents reveal.

The incident was said to have been like something out of Dukes of Hazzard. Pictured is a generic photo of a burnout.

Ioannou then drove into the front yard of a South Windsor home, in the process ramming through a street sign, water meter and letter box.

Police activated sirens and warning lights and Ioannou put his foot down, travelling well over the speed limit in the process.

He sped through northwest Sydney, at one point driving at speeds of 145 km per hour on Richmond Road, overtaking a vehicle on the incorrect side of the road and across double lines.

According to court documents, Ioannou was also seen “to diverge the vehicle heavily into the incorrect side of the road, across a painted island, and continued driving at a speed eastbound towards oncoming westbound traffic.”

The court heard the police had to stop the pursuit twice because of their concerns for members of the public.

Just before midnight, NSW Police put up the helicopter to assist in locating Ioannou.

He was soon spotted on Seven Hills Road and driving through several neighbouring suburbs.

In the midst of this wild pursuit, Ioannou managed to stop at a service station to refuel the stolen vehicle before driving away without paying.

It was in the early hours of Boxing Day when police caught up with him and they used spikes which succeeded in deflating the car’s tyres.

But that didn’t stop him.

Ioannou got out the car, ran from police and jumped the fence of a home in Baulkham Hills.

This was however his final stand with police taking him down shortly after.

Ioannou was found with a bum-bag containing methamphetamine (ice); a small set of electronic scales; $1,200 wrapped in a birth certificate, believed to be the proceeds of crime, along with a separate $850; a small knife; four driver’s licences, none of which belonged to him; someone else’s Medicare card; 10 bank cards, belonging to a variety of individuals; and, a construction photo ID card, again not belonging to Ioannou.

His lawyer described it as being like a scene from Dukes of Hazzard. Pictured are the original cast members of the popular show

The court heard that at the time of these offences, Ioannou was on parole.

Ioannou’s lawyer, Ian Acheson, acknowledged the seriousness of the offences. “His panic risked lives not just police lives, but civilian lives” adding the “thirty minutes of madness and terror” was like “something that was televised in the Dukes of Hazzard in the ‘70s.”

In court, Mr Acheson said his client “was sadly not thinking straight because he was in the grips of ice addiction.”

Arguing for his client not to receive a long prison sentence, he detailed his young age and child.

“He will spend his 21st birthday in custody and … so very wants to be a good father.

“Pass a sentence that does not crush those good hopes of a man who is not yet 21.”

However, Magistrate Stephen Corry said even though Ioannou had pleaded guilty to all offences, no other alternative than imprisonment was appropriate.

He was sentenced at Penrith Local Court

“The defendant is a young man, currently some 20 years of age, with an unenviable record for one so young.”

He pleaded guilty and was convicted of a litany of charges: driving a stolen car without ever possessing a licence, leading the police on a dangerous pursuit, possessing stolen goods and identity documents (with the intention to commit fraud), and possessing over $1,000 that is suspected to be the proceeds of crimes.

He was sentenced to two years and three months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 17 months.

From January 21 2022, Ioannou is also disqualified from holding a driver’s licence for five years.