Tristan Watson jailed for attempting to escape police custody

Incredible CCTV footage shows the moment a convicted killer driver seizes an opportunity to escape custody en route to jail after weeks of ‘despicable’ deeds. SEE THE VIDEO

Just days after killing a traffic controller while driving a stolen car at high speed, Tristan James Watson leapt from a police paddywagon and made a dash for freedom.

The shocking details of his “complete lack of remorse” and “complete disregard for the law” were revealed before Mackay Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Watson appeared via videolink from a Rockhampton jail where he is currently serving a five-and-a-half year jail sentence for driving a stolen Toyota Rav4 into Brendan Moreland who was packing away road signage on the Bruce Highway in the early hours of October 26, 2021.

Mr Moreland’s body was tossed about 50m into the air but Watson, then 28, fled the scene.

Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan told the court only one word captures what happened next.

“He’s just run someone over and he knows he’s run someone over by that stage because he returns and sees an ambulance there,” Ms Hartigan said.

“Then going on to steal a Holden Commodore an hour later, that’s despicable.”

Mackay traffic controller Brendan Moreland was tragically killed in a hit and run on the Ron Camm Bridge in October 2021. Picture: Kelly Moreland

The deadly consequences of Watson’s driving that day came after a fortnight of driving stolen cars and evading police, all while not holding a licence.

A tip-off led police to searching a unit on Carlyle St in Mackay where they found him hiding inside a roof cavity, after others who had been inside the residence ran away.

“One would imagine given the enormity of what you had done, that insight would kick in and you would go easily but you were going to fight to the death and you did that on the 2nd November again.”

Workmates of Brendan Moreland pay tribute to the popular traffic controller at the site where he died. Back: Mirikia Ahmat and Matthew Wellington. Front: Sharon Ahmat, Deliah Serruerier, Nezzy Falzon and Robyn 'Robbi' Mapley.

Watson was with other prisoners being transferred to Capricornia Correctional Centre when the police vehicle had mechanical issues requiring officers to make a temporary stop at Sarina Police Station.

CCTV footage shows officers going to unload prisoners to transfer them to the watch-house when Watson leaps out of the paddy wagon and races towards Broad St.

He made it 5m before the three officers apprehended him.

Incredible CCTV footage shows the moment convicted killer driver Tristan James Watson seizes an opportunity to escape custody enroute to jail after weeks of ‘despicable’ deeds. Picture: contributed

“You were shouting words to the effect of, ‘I don’t want to go into the f--king watch-house, I want to go to jail,” Ms Hartigan told him, only moments after Watson contested how many metres he made it.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Linden Pollard said if Watson had “made it a further couple of metres” the charge would have been upgraded to escape, and not just attempted, and it was only by “good luck he came back” into custody.

Police officers arrest Tristan James Watson after his attempt to escape custody while on the way to jail in Rockhampton. Picture: contributed

David Epstein, representing Watson on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service, said Watson grew up in Bowen, was exposed to domestic violence as a child, and was expelled from a public school in Year 7.

Thereafter he moved in with his dad, worked beside him as a farmhand, all while taking up drugs.

Watson ran away at 12, became homeless at 13 or 14, and became a dad at 16.

Tristan James Watson was jailed for 5.5 years for dangerously driving a stolen Rav4 striking and killing road worker Brendan Moreland on the Ron Camm Bridge in October 2021.

He briefly became an apprentice roofer at 17 but was jailed at 18, turned to methamphetamines and developed an addiction.

The court heard he has been in and out of jail since 2014 with a 12-page criminal history “littered” with violence, drugs, burglaries, robberies, “significant offending against police including serious assault”, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, trespassing and others – in addition to his recent offences in late 2021.

Ms Hartigan said she took into account Watson’s “prejudicial background” and his early guilty pleas for 19 charges but said it was unlikely he could ever be successfully rehabilitated.

She issued jail sentences for various charges to be served concurrently given his current district court-issued sentence, and she ordered multiple driving disqualifications.

For attempting to escape lawful custody, Ms Hartigan sentenced him to three months jail to be served cumulatively.

This allowed Ms Hartigan to extend Watson’s parole eligibility date by one month, moving it from September 23, 2024, to October 23, 2024.

Convictions were recorded for all offences.

Originally published as Tristan Watson jailed for attempting to escape police custody