Kevin Santos jailed after crime spree ends in fiery Albion Park crash
A man will spend time behind bars after his ice-fuelled bender ended with a stolen car he was driving crashed and caught on fire before he dragged out his limp and injured passenger out leaving her on a car’s bonnet before fleeing.
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An Illawarra man will spend at least three years behind bars after a drug-fuelled crime spree ended in a fiery crash that left a young woman unconscious on the bonnet of a car.
Kevin Santos faced Wollongong District Court on Thursday, where he was sentenced to four years nine months jail with a non-parole period of two years nine months by Judge Chris O’Brien, after a month-long crime spree through the Illawarra in 2018.
Described by prosecutors as a “drug-fuelled rampage”, Santos’s offending began on November 11, 2018, when two cars, a white Volkswagen Golf station wagon and a Mercedes, were stolen from a Blackheath home, just days after the keys to the vehicles were stolen.
Over the next several days, Santos was captured on CCTV several times either driving stolen vehicles while disqualified or stealing number plates at homes or shopping centre carparks.
Police came close to arresting him on December 4, after they spotted him driving a stolen Isuzu through the Flinders area. However, after activating their lights and sirens, Santos sped off.
Sometime later they found the vehicle abandoned at the Shellharbour Club, with a search of the vehicle uncovering 36g of crystal meth - 13g of which court documents say was for personal use - and an ice pipe, as well as handbag and a phone.
Santos’s offending reached its peak later that night, when he crashed another stolen car into a truck while on an ice “come down”, causing it to burst into flames.
The crash knocked his female patient unconscious, prompting Santos to pull her limp body from the car, carry her up the driveway of a nearby home and leave her sprawled on the bonnet of another vehicle.
Santos screamed for help and fled the scene, before a witness made frantic calls to emergency services.
The woman was flown to hospital in a critical condition, suffering fractures to her leg, a perforated bowel and lacerated spleen.
The 31-year-old was finally arrested on December 22, after he was found “falling in and out of consciousness” on the side of the road in Menai after hopping off his unregistered motorcycle.
Concerned witnesses called an ambulance, who attended a short time later to find him “agitated and aggressive”.
After he tried to jump in the driver’s seat of the ambulance and “shape up” at paramedics, police were called.
When they arrived, police were forced to chase him after Santos tried to flee.
After a scuffle, he was arrested, with a search of his backpack revealing he was in possession of several prohibited drugs, including 2.09g of meth, 1.09 of cocaine, as well as 3.56g of cannabis and 11mls of liquid methadone.
He has remained in custody since then, and in March plead guilty to two counts of knowingly drive stolen vehicle in conveyance, drive in a manner dangerous causing grievous bodily harm, two counts of take and drive in conveyance, supply prohibited drug and intimidation.
On Thursday, Santos’s defence lawyer told the court his client had problems with drug use and suffered a depressive illness which lead to “a very poor response to stressful situations”.
He also told the court Santos had expressed remorse for his actions in late 2018, and that he had admitted he needed to address his underlying drug and mental health issues.
In handing down his sentence, Judge O’Brien agreed Santos had shown remorse about the injuries he caused his friend, but was “somewhere between guarded and hopeful” when it came to his prospects of rehabilitation.
“He has been continually detained since [his first offences],” he said. “And there is a risk of institutionalisation.”
Judge O’Brien also noted Santos’ spate of criminal offences was aggravated by the fact he was on parole at the time.
With time already served, Santos will be eligible for release to parole in June 2020.