Jailed after police chase
A FUGITIVE who led police on a wild chase around Geelong has been jailed.
Donovan Kenyon, 22, was wanted for breaching his parole days before he sparked a pursuit in broad daylight on March 25 this year.
He was jailed yesterday for eight months after pleading guilty at Geelong Magistrates’ Court to charges including dangerous driving while being pursued by police.
The court heard Kenyon was granted parole in November last year, but breached it on March 20 when he cut and removed a monitoring bracelet from his ankle.
Five days later, Geelong Highway Patrol members tried to intercept Kenyon after he was seen in Corio driving a car without registration plates. Kenyon failed to stop and continued driving, reaching Shannon Ave, where he sped through red lights at the Ballarat Rd and Noble St intersection.
He was tracked to Wandana Heights, where he avoided a tyre deflation device by driving on to a footpath, prompting officers to call in a police helicopter. Kenyon was later seen driving on the wrong side of the road and having two nearmisses with other motorists in Breakwater and Newcomb.
He eventually dumped the car on Sydney Pde, Geelong, before jumping into the passenger seat of a stolen Holden Trax allegedly being driven by an associate.
Police pursued the Trax through Newtown, Highton and East Geelong until it was dumped in the Westfield Shopping Centre car park. Kenyon was arrested close by with coaccused Zac Warren.
The court heard the offending bore similarities to other dangerous driving episodes that resulted in Kenyon being jailed in 2018.
On that occasion, Kenyon’s crimes included an escape, while handcuffed, from a police divisional van as it drove into Geelong police station.
Defence lawyer Wendy Russell told the court yesterday her client was deeply remorseful for the latest offending.
She said Kenyon had been doing well on parole until a drug-fuelled birthday celebration in March, when he decided to cut off the monitoring bracelet.
Magistrate Michael Coghlan said Kenyon may have only received a jail term of several weeks if his offending was confined to the parole breach.
Mr Coghlan, who sentenced Kenyon in 2018, said he remembered the previous driving episodes that resulted in him imposing a 3½-year jail term.
“It was probably the worst driving I’ve had to deal with over the years,” he said.
Kenyon will begin serving the eight-month prison term once he completes his previous sentence.