A driver who led police on a chase through the Hunter in March presented “an extreme risk to public safety, including the police officers who have to engage”, a prosecutor has told Maitland local court.
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But defence for Paul Robert Johnson, charged with a range of speeding and pursuit-related counts, says he has been wrongly accused.
Mr Johnson appeared in court on Wednesday in relation to the pursuit through the Maitland area on March 5.
Police Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson died that night in a single vehicle crash at Allandale on his way to help officers respond to the pursuit.
Magistrate John Chicken said that, while he felt for the officer’s family, the death could not be counted as an aggravating factor when considering the fleeing driver’s behaviour during the pursuit.
Mr Johnson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His solicitor Chris O’Brien argued that Mr Johnson was not driving during the pursuit.
He said Mr Johnson had an alibi for the night of March 5 – he was at his sister’s house – and there were no fingerprints on the rear view mirror in the offending vehicle. Mr O’Brien said the only DNA evidence of Mr Johnson in the car was on a cigarette found in the driver’s side of the vehicle.
Two witnesses, both in the car involved in the pursuit when it took place, were also questioned on Wednesday.
The court heard Rebecca Gover, who gave evidence from the witness stand, had heavily consumed illicit drugs in the week before the pursuit.
She admitted to having a substance administered through a needle into her neck on the day of the chase.
Ms Gover said there were three other people in the car during the pursuit, but she could not remember who was driving.
“I just remember sirens and all that,” she said.
Another witness, Jason Ballard, told the court his eyesight was so impaired that he was unable to identify the driver while he was in the car.
The prosecution argued for Mr Johnson to be refused bail because of the risk the pursuit posed to the community. The prosecutor said he would present witnesses, as the hearing progressed, who could place Mr Johnson in the car during the chase.
A bail decision will be made on Friday and the hearing will continue in November.
Nick Bielby
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has worked as a journalist since 2011. Having joined the Newcastle Herald in 2017, he won a Walkley Award in 2019 with Donna Page for their investigation 'Dirty Deeds', which exposed the decades of illegal dumping of toxic material in and around a Hunter waterway.
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has worked as a journalist since 2011. Having joined the Newcastle Herald in 2017, he won a Walkley Award in 2019 with Donna Page for their investigation 'Dirty Deeds', which exposed the decades of illegal dumping of toxic material in and around a Hunter waterway.
