Ice- fuelled frenzy ends with prison

A PRISONER on parole went on an ice- fuelled crime spree where he robbed a bakery and hijacked a car, holding a cane knife to the head of the driver and forcing the car to reach speeds of 140km/ h along the Bruce Highway, a court has heard.

Harley Christopher Nigel Posey, 22, faced Townsville District Court yesterday to be sentenced for a spate of 24 charges committed in October 2017, including two counts of armed robbery in company and three counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

The court heard Posey committed a series of offences on October 30, 2017, in the company of another person, Zoe Goodfellow.

It began with the stealing of a car from a person who had asked Posey to repair it.

Crown prosecutor Dane Marley said Posey committed a fuel drive off and then drove on the Bruce Highway at speeds around 150km/ h, swerving and overtaking other cars.

“As the defendant entered Home Hill he entered a bakery … jumped over the counter and demanded money from the store attendant,” he said.

“The defendant was holding a cane knife when he committed this robbery.”

Mr Marley said Posey continued driving dangerously along the Bruce Highway, evading police who tried to stop him, until the car broke down, when he waved down a vehicle to get a lift.

The court heard when police spotted the pair in the car and tried to intercept, Posey pulled out the cane knife and held it to the driver’s head, telling her to keep driving.

“As she was driving, he climbed onto the driver’s seat and was applying force to the accelerator … the car reached speeds of 140km/ h,” Mr Marley said.

Mr Marley said Posey slowed the car down so the mother and daughter could jump out and he kept driving.

Defence barrister Harvey Walters said his client “injecting methylamphetamine for the first time, completely lost touch with reality”.

The court heard in the weeks prior to the October 30 offences Posey had broken into a home, broken into an Innisfail business and stolen a laptop, a car and a quad bike and crashed a car into a power pole along the Bruce Highway.

Posey has been in pre- sentence custody for 261 days.

He was sentenced to six years for one count of armed robbery, five years for the other, two years for burglary by break, two years for breaking and entering premises and stealing, 18 months for each charge of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, 18 months for unlawful use of a motor vehicle, 12 months for stealing, 12 months for unlawful use of a motor vehicle, 12 months each for three counts of failing to stop a motor vehicle, and three months for driving unlicensed.

He was convicted and not further punished for driving an uninsured vehicle, driving an unregistered motor vehicle, failing to comply with the duties of a driver in a crash, and five counts of breach of bail and offences relating to registration certificates.

He will be eligible for parole on November 3, 2019.