Tyrone Fernando jailed for dangerous high-speed pursuit through Newcastle, Lake Macquarie suburbs

Unlicensed, on parole and with his girlfriend in tow, a man has put his foot to the floor when police tried to pull him over, weaving through multiple suburbs at speeds of up to 160km/h.

Tyrone Fernando was jailed in Newcastle District Court on Tuesday. Supplied Amy Ziniak

A joy ride with his girlfriend turned into a dangerous high-speed pursuit with police before the driver, on parole at time, slammed the vehicle into a concrete barrier and tried to evade officers.

Tyrone Fernando, 24, had pinched a Mitsubishi ASX from the owner at Cooks Hill, switched over to Victorian number plates and was driving around unlicensed before he was finally caught out.

A court has heard Fernando was spotted by officers on Turton Rd Waratah in the early hours of the morning on October 19 last year.

Failing to stop, police gave chase as the 24-year-old accelerated to speeds of up to 160km/h, dodging traffic and running red lights.

Turton Rd, Waratah where the pursuit started. Google Maps

At around 1.30am, the court heard the pursuit wove its way through a number of suburbs including Lambton and Kotara and at one point Fernando steered the vehicle onto the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic on the Pacific Highway.

The court heard the 24-year-old sped towards Charlestown and the pursuit was abandoned by police due to dangerous speeds. It was picked up a short time later when Fernando hit excessive speeds on Charlestown Rd before the vehicle came to a stop and smashed into a concrete barrier.

The court heard Fernando fled and was arrested in the rear yard of a nearby property before he was found with one gram of methylamphetamine and eight milligrams of buprenorphine.

A search of his vehicle uncovered stolen number plates from Queensland and Victoria.

The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to police pursuit, drive conveyance knowing there was no consent of the owner, drive a vehicle with unauthorised number plates and goods in custody suspected stolen.

Two charges of drug possession would also be taken into account on sentencing.

In Newcastle District Court on Tuesday, the Crown solicitor highlighted the dangerous pursuit had tracked through a number of residential roads across multiple suburbs, putting the public at considerable risk.

She said considering his lengthy criminal history, there was a great risk he would reoffend.

Fernando’s solicitor told the court her client had battled drug abuse for a majority of his life and had mental health challenges.

Judge Mark Buscombe said being on parole at the time was an aggravating factor and it was “only luck” that there were not more tragic circumstances that day.

He was jailed for one year and one month, with a non-parole period of seven months.

Fernando was also disqualified from driving for 18 months while convictions were recorded for his charges of drug possession but no further penalties given.