Keegan Ostler: bail application after string of offences on Mid North Coast

A man who got involved in a police pursuit ending with an ill-fated attempted escape into a nearby body of water - twice - has asked a court to let him leave prison to attend rehab.

A serial offender who terrorised police and residents during two wild police pursuits and by pouring petrol through a stranger’s home has been ordered into rehab.

Keegan Ostler, 28, has been detained at Clarence Correctional Centre since pleading guilty to almost a dozen offences – many of which he committed while already out on bail – over a series of months.

His charges include:

• Drive motor vehicle during disqualification period
  
• Drive motor vehicle during disqualification period - 2nd+offence
  
• Police pursuit - not stop - drive recklessly - 2nd+off
  
• Use unregistered registrable Class A motor vehicle on road
  
• Possess prohibited drug x 3
• Possess/attempt to, prescribed restricted substance x 3
• Destroy or damage property

The charges span across a number of Mid North Coast suburbs, and add to Ostler’s already-tarnished criminal record which has been described by police as “lengthy”.

Ostler is set to reappear at Port Macquarie Courthouse later this year.

Magistrate Georgina Darcy granted the application, telling Ostler this was his chance to overcome his “issues with illicit substances”.

Ostler’s bail will allow him to attend Balund-a for rehabilitation for the first time, on the condition he reside at and participate in the program, abstain from alcohol and drugs (subject to random screenings), and not occupy the driver’s seat of any vehicle.

It comes after Ostler was arrested numerous times in Kempsey and Wauchope, having been caught with illicit drugs on more than one occasion.

According to court documents, the unlicensed Ostler was found behind the wheel of a gold Suzuki Vitara in September last year.

When police tried to pull the car over, Ostler exited the vehicle and ran across Smith St, through the Woolworths carpark, back onto Forth St and down the riverside.

Police engaged in a short foot pursuit before Ostler ran into Macleay River where he stayed until the officers were able to negotiate with him to return to land.

Once he left the river, Ostler told police he ran because he doesn’t hold a current driver’s licence – further checks found he was disqualified from applying for one until 2044.

The bad behaviour continued into the new year, when Ostler triggered a police pursuit after driving an unregistered car while still disqualified in January.

About 10pm, police were patrolling Kempsey when they saw Ostler driving a white Mitsubishi ute turning without indicating, failing to pause at a stop sign, and then failing to indicate again.

Police activated their warning lights to pull the vehicle over, but Ostler refused to stop, turning right into First Lane then left onto Macleay Valley Way.

With speeds varying between 80km/h and 100km/h, the vehicle would cross to the wrong side of the road and only return to the correct side when cars were approaching head-on.

Agreed police facts claim that the pursuit continued onto Collombatti Rd, then Chain O Ponds Rd before Ostler did a sharp turn into a rural property where he “continued down an extended driveway hitting several items in its path”.

Not wanting to crash, police got out on foot to follow the vehicle before it collided with trees and dense bush.

Ostler fled the scene but was tracked down by a police dog who found the man hiding in a creek.

He was arrested and the car searched, where police found a white box with a small resealable bag of meth with a smoking pipe and Ostler’s phone.

He was granted strict bail, including a 9pm curfew, but was found breaking those conditions just months later.

About 11.15pm on Saturday, April 2, police were conducting patrols along Oxley Hwy, Wauchope, when they saw Ostler riding a small child’s push bike on the road, towards them.

Court documents state that Ostler “was sweating a lot and talking incoherently”, leading police to believe he was under the influence of an illicit drug.

When asked for his details, the offender lied to police and told them his name was Tristan, before “having to think about his date of birth”.

While talking with Ostler, police observed a bulge sticking out of his pocket and asked for it to be handed over.

The small tin, which contained two small plastic bags of meth and two buprenorphine tablets, was seized.

When booking the items into the custody management system, police located a green Viagra tablet in Ostler’s wallet, for which he admitted he didn’t have a prescription.

The local man continued his crime spree into winter this year, when he broke into a Wauchope home and poured petrol all over the floor, breaching the conditions of his bail once again.

Ms Darcy told Ostler this bail application was his final chance to clean up his act.

“You’re at a crossroads in that you’ve indicated a desire to address the underlying issues,” she said.

“If you successfully complete the program, it’ll indicate to the court that you have good prospects of rehabilitation.”

Ostler is set to reappear in Port Macquarie Local Court on September 28.