A Wollongong man who led police on two pursuits through the city - one in which he reached speeds of up to 120km/h in a 60km/h zone - has had time added to a jail sentence he is already serving.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On a November morning in 2020, police saw a Ford Territory driven by 38-year-old Gregory Lawrence travelling at 91km/h along Corrimal Street, a 60km/h zone.
Police activated the lights and sirens in their vehicles and Lawrence stopped near the intersection with Market Street, a set of agreed facts said, but accelerated away harshly as an officer stepped towards the vehicle.
He continued speeding north along Corrimal Street, getting up to 120km/h and undertaking vehicles at the Bourke Street intersection.
The pursuit was terminated when he turned onto Blackett Street in North Wollongong.
Then on April 6 last year, Lawrence was seen in Figtree driving a vehicle that had been stolen from a Plumpton address the night before.
Over the following days, police said they saw the vehicle speeding and its driver failing to stop.
On the evening of April 9, police approached the vehicle where it was parked at the corner of Fitzwilliam and Kembla streets in Port Kembla but Lawrence drove away at speed, again leading police on a chase.
Police followed with lights and sirens, noting the vehicle reached 80km/h in the 50 zone.
On Northcliffe Drive the car reached 110km/h and sped through Warrawong, Lake Heights and Berkeley, before entering the M1 Princes Motorway where it reached 140km/h in the 100 zone.
But after passing Kanahooka Road the vehicle left the road and crashed into cyclone fencing.
Lawrence fled the scene, but a police dog found him hiding in the backyard of a nearby house.
He surrendered to police without incident and told officers he had taken cannabis, ice and heroin in the past hour.
Lawrence's other crimes included the use of a stolen bank card to rack up purchases totalling $850 in Kirrawee and shops in the Westfield Miranda complex in February last year.
The previous February, Lawrence stole almost $480 worth of clothing from the Wollongong David Jones store.
And in May 2020, he broke into a dental care business and stole a package from a table, which he later dumped when he realised it contained plastic retainers.
In relation to all these crimes, Lawrence pleaded guilty in the Wollongong Local Court to two counts of police pursuit, speeding, taking a conveyance without consent, shoplifting, aggravated break and enter, and 11 counts of obtain financial advantage by deception.
Magistrate Claire Girotto noted that Lawrence had been exposed to violence as a child and fell into what a psychologist described as a "delinquent" peer group in his teenage years.
She said this exposure to violence at a young age made him less morally culpable for his crimes.
But given his criminal history, Magistrate Girotto said there was no option but a sentence of imprisonment.
Lawrence was already serving a jail sentence of more than six years for a serious robbery.
Magistrate Girotto sentenced him to 28 months' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 15 months.
This added another three months to his existing non-parole period of three years and seven months, making him eligible for parole in March 2025.
Lawrence was also banned from driving for two years after his release from prison.
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.
Sign up to our newsletters
Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
