David Bates jailed for burglary, causing serious crash while on ‘extremely high’ amount of meth

A man who caused a serious crash when he sped down a freeway on a motorbike while high on ice, landing him in the ICU, will remain behind bars.

A father has been thrown in jail after he traded a stolen car for a motorbike before crashing it into a car.

Tyers man David Bates, 31, appeared in the Latrobe Valley County Court on Thursday to be sentenced for a string of charges including reckless conduct endangering life, burglary and drug possession.

The court was told the offending began in April 2021 when police attended his home to serve him with a firearm prohibition order.

When police arrived Bates locked himself in his truck and refused to get out before he reversed it into an unmarked police car before driving away from police.

The following month Bates broke into an “isolated farm house” where he stole a 1994 Land Cruiser which belonged to the owner’s friend who had died suddenly.

He also stole tools and a firearm from a Budgeree address.

Bates was identified after the homeowner discovered his healthcare card as he was rifling through his house to see what had been stolen from him.

In victim impact statements read to the court the victims said they no longer felt safe in their home.

“I was absolutely guttered,” one victim said. “My sense of safety has been shattered.”

David Bates, 31 from Tyers, appeared in the County Court, sitting in Latrobe Valley, on Thursday on a string of charges including reckless conduct endangering people, burglary and possessing meth. Â

Bates traded the stolen car for a Suzuki motorbike and cash, for this he was charged with obtaining property by deception.

The man who took the stolen car in exchange for his motorbike alerted police once he became suspicious the Land Cruiser might have been stolen.

Police matched DNA taken from an icy pole stick found in the car to Bates.

On June 12, 2021 Bates was driving the Suzuki Motorbike at “excessive speeds” on the wrong side of the road, the court heard, and collided with the driver’s side door of a car performing a U-turn across the highway.

The car was “substantially” damaged, but Bates was seriously injured in the collision.

He was transported to the Alfred Hospital with serious injuries including a fractured spine, a broken thumb and damage to his spleen and bowels. He was placed in in intensive care.

Blood tests revealed Bates had an “extremely high” level of methamphetamine in his system at the time of the collision.

It prompted police to search his bag and home, uncovering two bags of meth, two stolen motorbikes and other items stolen from the burglary in May.

Sentencing Bates on Thursday, Judge Doyle said Bates had not been deterred by stints in prison or community corrections orders in the past.

“Nothing the court has done has deterred you or rehabilitated you,” Judge Doyle said at sentencing.

“You have a total disregard for orders.”

The court heard Bates had held many jobs throughout his life including working at the Hazelwood power station and the Australian Paper Mill.

Bates was sentenced to a total of four years and 10 months in jail but will be eligible for parole after three years and two months.

He had already served 66 days in pre-sentence detention at the time of sentencing.