Zion Keegan Baira sentenced in Townsville’s Magistrates Court for unlawful use of a motor vehicle

An 18-year-old has told a court jail is “not my place” after he was arrested in a creek after fleeing from the stolen car he was riding in. Read the details.

A teenager who ran into a creek after police spiked the tires of the stolen car he was riding in has told a court that jail is “not my place” after serving time behind bars.

Zion Keegan Baira was sentenced in Townsville’s Magistrates Court on Tuesday after he was spotted with a stolen motorbike near a construction worksite and jumped in a stolen car for a ride with his friend before they were arrested by police within the same month.

The court heard that in March of this year, while on probation for other offences, Baira was picked up from a party by his friend in what he suspected was a stolen vehicle.

Police prosecutor Ash Raj said at around 2am that same night, the tactical crime squad successfully deployed tire spikes to stop the stolen car as it drove along Ingham road.

“ (Baira) and the co-offender remained in the vehicle for a short while before the vehicle came to a stop,” Mr Raj said.

The prosecution said Polair tracked the pair after they fled from the car on foot into the nearby Pee Wee creek where they both ran into the water.

“Both persons were surrounded until they exited the creek and then subsequently arrested,” he said.

Defence lawyer Jessika Hockings from Legal Aid said Baira still had his whole life ahead of him and a great chance at rehabilitation due to his “extremely” young age.

“This is his first time in an adult correctional facility and he understands the consequences are far more serious now that he is an adult … its no longer all fun and games” she said.

During her sentencing, Magistrate Susan Warrington highlighted that Baira had placed himself in “a great deal of risk of harm” when he fled from the police and entered the creek water.

“You still have prospects of rehabilitation. It is your first time in an adult correctional centre and you have been in there obviously for 24 days now so you’ve already suffered some punishment for your conduct,” she said.

Baira pleaded guilty to two charges of the unlawful use of a motor vehicle and was sentenced to six months in jail wholly suspended for an operational period of 12 months.

The 24 days he spent in pre-sentence custody was declared as time served.

Originally published as Zion Keegan Baira sentenced in Townsville’s Magistrates Court for unlawful use of a motor vehicle