Shuan Thorpe: 19yo hit with prison time after high-speed police pursuit

A Lake Illawarra man has been sentenced for instigating a dangerous police pursuit from one end of the Shoalhaven to the other.

An Illawarra teenager has been sentenced to two years in prison for leading police on a reckless 100km pursuit across the Shoalhaven last year.

Shuan Thorpe faced Nowra Local Court on Monday where Magistrate Lisa Viney convicted him of seven offences stemming from the dangerous events of October 26, 2021, where the 19-year-old reached speeds in excess of 170km/h.

Magistrate Lisa Viney sentenced Shuan Thorpe in Nowra Local Court on Monday.

The charges included; taking a conveyance without consent of owner, driving a motor vehicle during disqualification period, police pursuit after not stopping – reckless; three counts of possessing a prohibited drug and possessing a prohibited weapon without a permit.

Thorpe stole the white MG station wagon he was seen speeding in along the Princes Hwy from an address in Jerrawangala – a tiny community about 30km south of Nowra – with the owner noticing the vehicle was missing just before 6am on the day of the pursuit.

At about 11am, Thorpe, who lived in Lake Illawarra, ignored police who tried to pull him over near Berry with the car only stopping once police deployed spikes more than 100km away.

During the pursuit Thorpe was seen crossing into oncoming traffic, speeding through traffic at more than 150km/h and flying through a 40km/h roadworks zone near Burrill Lake at more than 100km/h.

Thorpe struck the road spikes at East Lynne – about halfway between Ulladulla and Batemans Bay – but despite the front wheels deflating he continued speeding at speeds of up to 150km/h with his diminishing control of the car seeing him nearly collide with a 4WD towing a trailer and another car.

NA

Thorpe veered off an embankment nearly 5km south of the road spikes, but when police got to the vehicle it was unoccupied which kicked of a manhunt by officers from Ulladulla, Batemans Bay and Nowra, as well as two PolAir choppers and a police dog and handler.

Thorpe was located hiding in scrub about 500m from the vehicle at around 2pm by the police dog. He was taken to Moruya Hospital for assessment before being taken into custody at Batemans Bay Police Station.

When inspecting the MG, police found 0.3 grams of cocaine, 0.4 grams of amphetamine, a cannabis leaf (0.04 grams) and an Urban Skinner push dagger.

Police reported that during one section of the pursuit, Thorpe travelled 50km – including through multiple townships – in 22 minutes with an average speed of 136km/h.

At the time of the high-speed pursuit, Thorpe was 15 months into an 18 month driving suspension.

NA

“You are a very young man, only 19-years-old,” Magistrate Viney said in court.

“The facts are in the mid-range of objective seriousness, maybe higher, and the risk you pose to the community is quite high.

“[You have had] quite a disadvantaged upbringing with domestic violence and drug use, but a term of imprisonment is only appropriate.”

The sentence also encompassed three non-related charges of larceny and two counts of taking a conveyance without consent.

These charges came from three separate incidents between October 2020 and January 2021 where Thorpe stole a couple of motorbikes and a $1000 pushbike.

Thorpe’s two-year prison term was backdated to October 26 and he has a non-parole period of 12 months.

Thorpe will also have to pay a combined $1750 in damages to the owners of one of the motorbikes and the pushbike.