Dangerous driver sent to jail after leading police on car chase

Monday 25 January 2021

A 29-year-old man led police on a car chase after drinking 12 cans of lager.

Jake Michael Thomas Perry, 29, was convicted for dangerous driving, failing to stop, failing to provide a breath sample, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

It all happened on Friday 9 October, when Perry decided to have a few drinks while his partner was out for the night. 

After drinking what he later estimated to be 12 cans of lager, at around 22:30 Perry decided to drive to the shop for food, despite being drunk, disqualified from driving and without any insurance for his vehicle, which he had recently purchased in anticipation of his driving ban falling away the following month.

He was driving north along Les Banques and was waiting at the Admiral Park traffic lights when a police vehicle approached in the opposite direction. Noticing that Perry did not have his headlights on, the police officer drove his vehicle in front of Perry's car to block him off.

Pictured: Perry was sentenced in the Royal Court after the Magistrate's Court refused jurisdiction for the case. 

As the officer started to get out of his car, Perry reversed and drove around the car, going on the wrong side of the road in the process. After radioing colleagues for assistance, another police car pursued Perry at speeds of around 50mph, first along Les Banques and then into Vale Road. 

Perry tried to lose them, and drove straight through the red lights at the Vale Road/St Clair Hill junction before coming to a stop shortly afterwards. 

The arresting officer could smell intoxicants upon opening the driver's door and said Perry was "difficult to understand" because of how drunk he was. 

At the station, he did not provide a sufficient sample of breath, and it was judged that he was deliberately failing to do so. Perry simply stated that he had panicked. 

Pictured: Perry was taken to the police station where he did not provide an adequate breath test.

Defence Advocate Phoebe Cobb said her client had consumed 12 cans of lager that evening: "Unfortunately he drank to excess. This is obviously a large amount and impacted on his decision-making and his ability to think rationally."

Advocate Cobb said Perry used alcohol as a crutch to block out difficulties in his life. 

"He turned to drink to ease his pressures and worries - as a way of covering up some of his insecurities."

With two previous drink-related offences on his record - the most recent of which led to a four-week stay at Les Nicolles - she noted that the offences are getting worse, not better.

"He has never received the help he needs address these issues. If these issues are not addressed, history may repeat itself - it has already repeated itself twice, albeit with gaps in between."

Pictured: Perry has been on remand since 10 October. 

Advocate Cobb asked the Court to show exceptional leniency. Lt-Bailiff Russell Finch disagreed with her, saying Perry was undeserving of it.

"That leniency would be waste on you," he scolded. "You must learn the consequences of your law-breaking."

"You have a bad record of drink driving and you put innocent road users at risk and caused a police pursuit.

"You drove without insurance and I pity anyone minding their own business who might have been injured by you, or worse."

Perry was sentenced to 18 months in prison, backdated to October. He has been disqualified from driving for a further seven years.