James Parisi-Yacoub: Banned driver hit 160km/h during police pursuit, Manly Court told
A driver disqualified until 2031 who “panicked” and led police on a 160km/h chase has been sentenced in Manly Local Court.
Manly
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A driver, who had been banned from getting behind the wheel for 18 years, led police on a 160km/h pursuit when they tried to pull him over, Manly Local Court has heard.
James Mark Parisi-Yacoub, 26, of Frenchs Forest, had been disqualified until 2031, but told police he “panicked” when they hit him with their lights and sirens while he was driving a Toyota Camry.
Parisi-Yacoub, a joiner, hit speeds of up to 160km/h and drove on the wrong side of the road during the 10 km pursuit that police ended up calling off for public safety reasons.
He pleaded guilty to one count of police pursuit – not stop – drive recklessly; and two counts of drive while disqualified as well as one count of possess an unauthorised pistol.
Police found a replica gun in the boot of his car.
In a police facts sheet tendered to court police stated they saw the car Parisi-Yacoub was driving — at 10.20pm on July 24, 2019 — turn “harshly” onto Herring Rd at North Ryde.
The car was doing 80km/h in the 50km/h zone before it turned into Abuklea Rd where the police activated their car’s lights and sirens.
But the court heard that Parisi-Yacoub accelerated away instead of stopping.
In North Rd the Camry’s speed reached 100km/h before going through a red light and accelerating to 120km/h along Balaclava Rd.
It went through a red at the intersection with Blaxland Rd at 100km/h before hitting 120km/h on Beecroft Rd where police said the car began “swerving from lane one to lane two several times, in and around traffic while failing to indicate”.
At the intersection with Carlingford Rd, it pulled onto the wrong side of the road to avoid vehicles stopped at traffic lights and then headed onto Pennant Hills Rd where it hit 160km/h.
“Given the projected risk to the community, police were forced to terminate the pursuit at 10.31pm,” the facts sheet stated.
Later that night police went to a home in Carlingford, where the car was parked, and arrested Parisi-Yacoub.
When they searched the car, they found a metal replica revolver in the boot.
He was also later charged with another disqualified driving offence after being pulled over at Frenchs Forest in December 2019.
His solicitor James Drewett told the court on Wednesday that the pursuit was “consistent with my client being an immature man”.
“My client panicked and made a dreadful decision,” Mr Drewett said.
Magistrate Christopher Longley jailed Parisi-Yacoub for 15 months, with the sentence to be served in the community as an Intensive Corrections Order.
He was also disqualified from driving for another nine months.
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