Drew Gallagher: Northern beaches man swan Manly Creek in cop chase
A serial burglar who targeted cafes on the northern beaches and eastern suburbs was involved in a wild police chase that resulted in two schools being locked down and the 25-year-old swimming across Manly Creek in a bid to evade capture.
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A drug addict was high on meth and Xanax when he led police on a dramatic pursuit across Sydney’s northern beaches in a stolen vehicle.
Drew Gallagher’s daring attempted getaway resulted in two schools being locked down and the 25-year-old swimming across a Manly Creek to avoid arrest.
Formerly from Fairlight, he has been in and out of prison and juvenile detention centres for the past decade and was back in the NSW District Court on Friday to be sentenced for the police chase on May 6 last year.
He was also sentenced for a string of serious break and enter offences and will spend at least three years and five months in custody following his sentence.
The court heard he had been “up” on meth and Xanax prior to the police chase and even tried to escape police custody through the ceiling of Northern Beaches Hospital following his arrest.
The agreed facts stated Gallagher was driving a stolen car, which he did not steal himself, with a 17-year-old passenger alongside him who was also charged but cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Police spotted the stolen car in Freshwater about noon that day and a pursuit began.
The pursuit was called off due to Gallagher’s dangerous driving and he was spotted again soon after on Addiscombe Rd in Manly Vale, where he crashed into a street sign trying to make a U-turn.
Both men inside the vehicle ran off.
“Police officers chased the offender along the edge of Manly Creek,” the agreed facts stated.
“The offender jumped into the creek and swam to the other side. The offender entered the gardens of residential houses that adjoined the creek.”
The agreed facts stated police found him hiding underneath a house and arrested him before he pretended to have a seizure then spat at police.
Two nearby schools were locked down as a precaution during the dramatic chase.
Gallagher later complained of a leg injury and was taken to Northern Beaches Hospital where he again tried to escape through the ceiling of a bathroom.
“This caused roofing to fall down on the offender which alerted the police officers,” the agreed facts stated.
Gallagher told the court he could not remember the incident because of his drug-induced state.
The court heard he had only been on parole for about a month at the time.
Gallagher’s lawyer told the court, prior to his sentencing on Friday, that his client had struggled with drug addiction since a young age and his offending was connected to drug use including his getting involved in break and enters to pay for his habit.
His lawyer told the court Gallagher had been clean for months during his current stint in custody and he wanted to serve his sentence at the Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional Centre based at Parklea to break his addiction.
“I’ve hit yet another rock bottom and I need to do it differently this time,” Gallagher said. “I can’t go from (prison) to home because it’s just the same old s***.”
Gallagher was also sentenced on Friday over five separate break and enters in company dating back to November 2018 and December 2018.
That included a break-in at Forestville Bakery where $1000 was stolen, a break-in at Little Evie Cafe in Redfern where $1800 was stolen, a break-in at Sugarcane Restaurant in Coogee where $11,000 was stolen, a break-in at Huxton Cafe in Bronte where $300 was stolen, and a break-in at Foodworks supermarket in Clovelly where $9700 was stolen as well as thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes.
Gallagher pleaded guilty to knowingly receive property stolen in a serious indictable offence, knowingly drive a conveyance taken without consent, drive in manner dangerous to others while police officers in pursuit, assault police officer, damage property, and five counts of aggravated break, enter and steal in company.
Judge Sharron Norton sentenced him to a term of imprisonment of five years and three months for the offences, with a non-parole period of three years and five months.
He will be eligible for release in August 2023. She also referred his matter to the drug court to decide whether he was eligible to complete his sentence at the Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional Centre.