The Napier Courthouse where a man admitted four charges from a chase as he tried to escape from police. Photo / Warren Buckland
The Napier Courthouse where a man admitted four charges from a chase as he tried to escape from police. Photo / Warren Buckland
A disqualified driver who crashed an unwarranted car into a tree and a power pole in a short bid to outrun the police in suburban Napier blamed the officers he reckoned should not have started the chase.
But it was a much more remorseful 28-year-old Juan Joe Anthony Perston who,having finally conceded to police the offers that his driving was reckless and unsafe, on Wednesday admitted four charges when he appeared in Napier District Court.
Judge Bridget Mackintosh convicted him on charges of driving while disqualified, dangerous driving, failing to stop for police and possession of cannabis and remanded him at large for sentencing on February 27.
She said she was considering a sentence of some form of community detention.
According to a summary presented by police prosecutor Sergeant John Ashfield, police became suspicious about a car in Douglas McLean Ave, Marewa, shortly before 4.30pm on Monday, December 16.
Discovering it did not have a current warrant of fitness, they decided to attempt to get the driver to stop, but Perston put the pedal to the floor in a snaking loss-of-traction and hit speeds of about 100km/h — double the limit for the area.
He swung left into Latham St with apparently no check for other traffic and with police with siren wailing and red and blue lights flashing in pursuit, swung left again into Rutherford Rd where he hit speeds 30-40km/h over the limit.
Moments later Perston's Ford hit the tree and post, which police said was enough to stop the vehicle crashing on to a section where children were playing on a trampoline.
The summary said Perston at first told police it was "all your fault" as they should not have been trying to stop him, because of the way he was driving.
He then changed his stance to recognise his driving was reckless and not safe for the public, the summary said.
