Highspeed chase brings jail sentence

A PAROLEE who took police on a highspeed chase past a primary school says he is unwilling to do courtordered rehabilitation.

Joshua Sinclair Hair (30) blamed Corrections and other agencies for “not supporting him to be drugfree and live a positive lifestyle” and said he would organise treatment himself.

Most important, he said, was the job he had lined up on a fishing boat in Bluff and cementing stable accommodation.

Judge Michael Turner told the Dunedin District Court this week Hair probably had his priorities back to front.

His dangerous driving, the judge said, was “at the highest end” of the scale.

Hair had previously also pleaded guilty to aggravated driving while disqualified, failing to stop for police, breach of parole and failing to answer court bail.

Just months after being released from prison — a term imposed following another highspeed police chase — the defendant was behind the wheel on November 15.

An unmarked police car followed and tried to pull him over.

As soon as Hair saw the lights, he took off, reaching speeds of 70kmh on the residential streets of Brockville.

He veered into the wrong lane to take a corner into Turnbull St and pedestrians had to run across the road to avoid being hit.

Hair was clocked at 80kmh going past Brockville Primary School.

He accelerated to 106kmh while passing the suburb’s shops but the 1.6km chase ended abruptly.

When cutting another corner into Dalziel St, Hair lost control and slammed the unwarranted, unregistered car into a ditch, coming to rest against a wire fence.

The pursuit continued for a short distance on foot before he was arrested.

Police found a small amount of methamphetamine and cannabis with him — a contravention of his parole conditions.

At his final hearing before the board, Hair acknowledged he had been using methamphetamine for at least 10 years at a very high level and cannabis since he was 12 or 13.

Judge Turner noted the defendant’s “shocking” driving history

A report before the court considered him a high risk of reoffending.

Hair was jailed for seven months but will be released imminently because of time spent on remand.

He was disqualified from driving for 19 months.