Berkeley man Feras Abdul-Hamid found guilty of 200kmh police pursuit

Feras Abdul-Hamid denied he was the man behind the wheel during a short Wollongong District Court trial that started on Monday.

The jury of 12 delivered their verdict on Tuesday afternoon, finding the 42-year-old guilty of possessing a prohibited drug, speeding in excess of 45kmh, and driving dangerously in a police pursuit.

The court heard police patrolling Alexandria attempted to pull over a white Mercedes-Benz speeding past them in the opposite direction about 3.50am on April 12 2021.

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Senior Constable Nicholas Floro took to the witness stand and said Abdul-Hamid was the sole occupant of the Mercedes who was driving at speed towards Newtown.

Constable Floro took a U-turn to stop the Mercedes and initiated a pursuit when it slowed and then accelerated.

He saw Abdul-Hamid hurling small plastic bags from the driver's side window at least three times during the chase, in which Abdul-Hamid hit speeds of more than 200kmh in a 50kmh zone and at times travelled along footpaths.

Constable Floro told the jury he was forced to stop the pursuit due to the dangerous speeds.

He then canvassed the area on foot and found a small clear plastic bag containing a prohibited drug on the corner of King and Alice Street in Newtown, with the Mercedes found two days later in Brighton-Le-Sands.

Checks revealed the car was registered in Abdul-Hamid's then wife Suzanna Ristevska.

Abdul-Hamid's fingerprints were lifted from the steering wheel, with mobile phone tower data tracking him as being at the relevant Sydney suburbs during the chase.

He will remain behind bars as he awaits his punishment date.

Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.

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