David Johnson: South Coast prisoner pleads guilty to escaping Nowra jail

A convicted jailbird has fessed up to making a great escape from a South Coast prison, stealing a plumber’s ute and dashing 200km to Canberra in a wild 10-day police manhunt, it can be revealed.

David Johnson escaped South Coast Correctional Centre on January 29. Picture: NSW Police

A convicted jailbird has fessed up to making a great escape from a South Coast prison, stealing a plumber’s ute and dashing 200km to Canberra in a wild 10-day police manhunt, it can be revealed.

David Johnson, 44, appeared in Nowra Local Court on Tuesday, pleading guilty to escaping lawful custody, vehicle theft and larceny.

Court documents reveal Johnson was serving a one year and eight month sentence in South Coast Correctional Centre’s minimum security wing, when he pulled a full-blown Steve McQueen on January 29 this year.

The documents reveal Johnson was walking with 16 other inmates from a prison laundry, when he moved ahead of the group before bolting into nearby bush on the grounds.

Two correctional officers gave chase, but quickly lost sight of the man.

David Johnson will be sentenced in Nowra Local Court on March 11. Picture: John Appleyard

Alarms were raised and prisoners locked down, as the major manhunt across the Nowra CBD and surrounding bushland featuring Polair and dog units lasting more than a week commenced.

Agreed facts state Johnson managed to flee prison grounds onto the Princes Hwy, eventually reaching South Nowra’s industrial area.

Police released CCTV images of Johnson during the 10-day hunt. Picture: NSW Police

There, he spotted an unattended Toyota HiLux with keys in the ignition at Reece’s Plumbing.

Johnson jumped in the vehicle, speeding off down the highway.

Agreed facts state the ute’s owner, a local plumber who was buying supplies for a job, ran after the ute, before flagging down a nearby police officer.

The police officer began searching for the ute, with police fearing it was the recently escaped prisoner.

On February 7, ten days after his escape, ACT Policing received reports of a man behaving suspiciously near an apartment block on Dooring St, Braddon at about 4.30am.

Officers stormed the area, arresting Johnson ending his free run more than 200km away from where it started.

He was extradited back into NSW to Queanbeyan Police Station, where he was refused bail and charged.

Johnson’s case returned to Nowra Local Court on Tuesday, after it was revealed in the same court on February 11 that this was not his first rodeo, having previously fled a correctional facility twice before.

On Tuesday, Magistrate Lisa Viney noted the pleas, before adjourning Johnson’s case for sentence on March 11.

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