A magistrate has issued an arrest warrant for a Berkeley woman who failed to turn up to court to face dangerous driving and fraud charges.
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Belinda Lee Galvin had been due to front Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday for sentencing on four charges including reckless driving and driving while disqualified, stemming from a police pursuit that took place at Lake Heights in mid-October.
A further charge of using a false document was also laid in relation to the production of a falsified doctor’s certificate 10 days earlier.
Galvin’s lawyer, Anthony Williamson, mentioned the case in front of Magistrate Imad Abdul-Karim on Tuesday morning but said his client had not shown up to court as required and he was no longer able to proceed in the case.
Magistrate Abdul-Karim noted Galvin had previously entered pleas of guilty to all the charges and that they had been due to be finalised that day, prompting him to issue a warrant for Galvin’s arrest.
Police documents tendered to the court reveal Galvin was on strict conditional bail including daily reporting but had failed to turn up to Lake Illawarra Police Station on October 5 and 6, causing the force’s automatic reporting system to flag the matter.
When Galvin arrived at the station on the afternoon of October 7, she produced a medical certificate purported to be from a doctor at Dapto Medical Centre.
Police were suspicious of the authenticity of the document and contacted the centre, who confirmed the doctor’s signature had been forged.
Meantime, Galvin left the station before police could apprehend her.
Eleven days later officers saw Galvin driving along Weringa Avenue at Lake Heights and attempted to pull her over, however she accelerated away from them, reaching speeds of up to 120km/hr along the signposted 50km/hr zone as police gave chase.
She eventually lost control of the vehicle and collided with a gutter at the intersection of Katrina Street and Jane Avenue.
Officers were able to remove her from the car before she could re-start it and drive off.
Checks revealed Galvin’s licence was disqualified from 1999 until 2021.
The 37-year-old was taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station where she refused to participate in a police interview.