Detectives will use a pair of designer sandals and a dental appointment reminder to link an alleged Barrack Heights bikie associate to the violent ramming of a police car on the Central Coast.
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Police allege disqualified driver Jack Courtney was behind the wheel of a stolen Nissan 4WD that was used to ram a police highway patrol vehicle four times during a pursuit near Erina on May 24.
The police vehicle was a write-off and had to be towed from the scene, while the officers involved, although uninjured, were "left shaken up and somewhat distressed", police said.
Meanwhile, the 4WD was dumped about 500m up the road and the driver fled on foot. A police dog tracked the driver to a nearby home before losing the scent.
While documents tendered to Wollongong Local Court on Monday were silent on whether pursuing officers actually saw Courtney driving the vehicle, it will be alleged investigators subsequently discovered a plethora of evidence linking the 27-year-old to the crime scene.
The evidence is said to include DNA matching Courtney's, which was found on the steering wheel, gear stick and driver's side door of the Nissan.
Officer also located a mobile phone in the car which contained a text message reminder that "Jack" had an upcoming appointment with a dentist in Berkeley on May 26. The mobile was later discovered to belong to Courtney's father, who confirmed his son had access to the phone.
Police will allege they also found Courtney's DNA on a pair of Tommy Hilfiger sandals located near where the police dog had lost the driver's scent.
It is alleged Courtney was seen wearing the same sandals in police video footage of him being arrested earlier this month on an related matter.
Police also said Courtney is seen wearing the same sandals in an undated picture (below) uploaded to his Facebook page.
Courtney was arrested at his Shellharbour Road home on Saturday and charged with a host of offences including using an offensive weapon (the car) to avoid apprehension.
In court on Monday, Courtney denied having any links to outlaw motorcycle gangs and sought release on bail to attend an intensive, live-in drug rehabilitation program.
"I need help," he told the court.
Magistrate Claire Girotto agreed to release Courtney to the drug rehab program.
The case will return to court in July.
The allegations
Court documents said police were patrolling the Erina area on May 24 when they noticed a Nissan Elgrand 4WD being driven erratically and at speed on the Central coast Highway.
Officers followed the vehicle and activated their warning lights when it turned off the highway, indicating for the car to pull over.
The vehicle initially slowed down however the driver then accelerated away from police, who turned off their lights and sirens but continued to follow the car.
It is alleged when police again tried to pull the vehicle a short distance away, the driver brought the car to a stop, before putting the vehicle in reverse and driving into the front of the police vehicle, causing the bonnet to crumple.
The driver allegedly repeated the reversing action twice more before turning the Nissan around and driving it directly towards the highway patrol car.
The force of the collision caused the airbags in the police car to deploy.
Meanwhile, the driver of the Nissan sped off.
Other officers called to the scene discovered the Nissan abandoned about 500m up the road.
A resident told officers they saw a "solid, big muscly guy with a shaved or short hair" run from the vehicle.
A police dog brought in to track the driver managed to follow a scent to a nearby house but couldn't go any further.
A forensic investigation of the scene uncovered DNA from the vehicle and the sandals, which police will allege is a match to Courtney, as well as the iPhone.
