Wild driver’s route to prison
A NORLANE man was so afraid of jail he sped on the wrong side of the road and evaded police, a court heard.
But Grant Tuffnell-Vince’s actions landed him in the place he feared most, as Magistrate Ann McGarvie opted to jail the 25-year-old for 11 months.
The Geelong Magistrates’ Court yesterday heard police were conducting a covert operation in Norlane last year when they came across a black Holden Commodore travelling along the wrong side of the road.
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Chris Capuano told the court officers saw five cars take evasive action to avoid hitting the vehicle.
Officers quickly identified Tuffnell-Vince as the driver and decided to initiate a pursuit. Instead of stopping, Tuffnell-Vince kept driving through a red light and into oncoming traffic.
Police continued to follow Tuffnell-Vince through Norlane, but were forced to stop the pursuit when he started driving about 160km/h in a 60km/h zone.
The court heard TuffnellVince eventually pulled over his car and got out. Nearby K9 units pounced on TuffnellVince and arrested him.
Months later, TuffnellVince was again captured by police while trying to steal from a Barwon Health worksite.
The court heard TuffnellVince and a co-offender were spotted breaking in and eventually busted with copper.
Tuffnell-Vince’s lawyer pleaded for Ms McGarvie to spare her client further jail time. She argued he had suffered immensely after seeing his close friend Sam Birchall shot dead in 2015.
But Ms McGarvie said Tuffnell-Vince had failed to adhere to a Community Corrections Order he had been on since 2014 and continued to offend.
“You have had plenty of chances to change your life and you have chosen not to do so,” she said, calling TuffnellVince’s driving “incredibly dangerous” and remarking it was only “pure luck” that he didn’t kill himself or another innocent driver.
Tuffnell-Vince, who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, burglary and theft, was sentenced to 11 months’ jail with 153 days reckoned. He was fined a total of $1000.