Brayden Ware aka Marcus Thomas: Drunk, stoned ‘tosser’ led cops on stolen car chases
Too drunk and stoned to remember, this 23-year-old Greensborough alcoholic father and tradie had no doubt he had done “some stupid s**t”.
South East
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A drunk, doped-up dangerous-driving “tosser” who led police on two wild police chases in stolen cars at speeds of up to 200km/h says he can’t remember much of his crimes.
Brayden Ware, who also goes by the name Marcus Thomas, was so stoned and intoxicated he couldn’t recall the first pursuit, which began after he nicked a car while walking to buy more booze.
The 23-year-old Greensborough father wasn’t in a much better state during the second chase, this time driving drunk along the Monash Freeway at double the 100km/h speed limit.
Ware, a disqualified P-plater, pleaded guilty to a raft of charges including reckless conduct endangering serious injury at the online Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
The court heard at around 3.30pm on September 24 last year police received reports of a stolen Toyota Kluger racing down the emergency lane of the Monash Freeway at 200km/h.
It was tracked to Pakenham and officers deployed stop sticks, but the vehicle mounted the kerb and Ware got away.
The air wing then joined in the chase with several marked police cars as he sped at 120km/h along 60km/h roads before he turned onto Princes Highway.
There he hit 180km/h — in an 80km/h zone — before leaving the highway and turning into a dead-end street.
Thanks to the aid of a good Samaritan tow truck driver he was boxed in and arrested, blew .105 and remanded in custody.
Just two weeks before he had led officers on another reckless chase, that time through the northeast suburbs and along the Greensborough Bypass.
He had stolen a Ford Falcon from a Mill Park driveway while walking to the bottle-o to get more grog, despite already having downed 16 cans of bourbon and beer and smoked “some chuff”.
He was caught after he fled a crash, but left his wallet and jacket behind in the stolen Ford and was soon tracked down, recording an alcohol reading of .120.
The next day he told police he “hadn’t got a complete recollection” of what had happened and “didn’t doubt he did some stupid s**t” and was “a tosser”.
His defence lawyer said the tradie father of one had some serious alcohol addiction issues which began when he started drinking at the age of 13.
He said the “wheels fell off” when Ware’s relationship broke down and he relapsed back into “chronic” drinking.
Magistrate Julie O’Donnell said previous community corrections orders hadn’t made any difference to his drinking or his dangerous behaviour, and the drug court, which also dealt with offenders addicted to alcohol, could be the place for him.
Ware was remanded in custody and will be screened for drug court on March 10.
