A man arrested at gunpoint after leading police on a high-speed chase through the streets of greater Wollongong on Tuesday is no stranger to the inside of a jail cell - although he has, famously, managed to escape from one in the past.
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Shaun Primmer may only be 26-years old, but he already has an unenviable criminal record consisting of serious offences, along with a conviction for escaping from the newly-minted Illawarra Reintegration Centre at Unanderra in January 2018, despite having less than a month left to serve on his sentence.
He was wanted on a revocation of parole warrant when police noticed him behind the wheel of a red Holden Commodore Police at Mangerton on Tuesday morning and tried to pull him over.
It is alleged Primmer used his car to ram the police vehicle before taking off towards the Princes Motorway at high speed.
Police chased the Commodore along the motorway, allegedly reaching speeds of up to 150km /hr before the pursuit was stopped for safety reasons.
PolAir was called in and kept sight of the Commodore as it veered off the highway into Warrawong, where it ran out of fuel.
Highway patrol officers subsequently pounced on the stalled vehicle, arresting Primmer at gunpoint.
He was taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station and charged police pursuit, driving whilst disqualified and possessing the prohibited drug meth.
He was also charged with possessing a prohibited weapon, after police discovered a taser inside the car.
Primmer was refused bail to face Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday.
He appeared via video link and in handcuffs during a brief mention of his matter. He did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.
At the end of the proceedings, Primmer asked to speak to the court, telling Magistrate Jillian Kiely he had a "problem with drugs" and wanted to "go to rehab".
"I keep f--king up," he said.
"I've got a bad problem [with drugs], that's why I keep getting in trouble."
Magistrate Kiely advised Primmer to speak to his lawyer or a custodial support officer about finding a bed in a rehabilitation program.
The case was adjourned to September 15.
Primmer made headlines in early 2018 when he absconded from the minimum-security Illawarra Reintegration Centre on Lady Penrhyn Drive, which had been open for less than seven months at the time, by loosening a security grill that allowed a window to be displaced. Primmer then manouevred his 200cm frame through the resulting hole.
He remained at large for 24 hours until a tip off led police to discover him hiding inside a house on Lowanna Street, less than 3km away from the jail.
Primmer subsequently pleaded guilty to an escape charge in Wollongong Local Court, saying he had become concerned about his mother's deteriorating health and feared she would die while he was in jail.
However, prison staff suggested Primmer had fled for a different reason, saying he'd been contraband at the minimum-security facility and as a result was due to be transferred to another prison in the morning.
Primmer was sentenced to a further 30 days in jail.
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