Wagga man Alexander Mark Lee sent back to jail after pursuit through city streets, rollover

Alexander Mark Lee, 32, was sentenced in Wagga District Court last week over a police pursuit in March after he breached both bail and parole following his release from custody for a prior offence.

About 1am on March 16, police observed a grey Fiat sedan drive into oncoming traffic at the intersection of Morgan and Baylis streets in central Wagga.

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Police sounded their siren and pulled the driver, Lee, over for his manner of driving and saw his passenger was known to police.

When it became clear to Lee that police were waiting for backup to arrive, he opted not to wait, instead saying "oh f--k this" and speeding off, forcing police to give chase.

When police caught up to Lee, they turned on lights and sirens, but he ignored these, speeding north up Peter Street at speeds up to 100km/h - which is double the legal limit.

The pursuit continued along Morrow Street and Ivan Jack Drive before Lee drove on the wrong side of Trail Street.

Turning right into Travers Street towards North Wagga he again reached speeds of up to 100km/h before hitting a slight bend in the road and temporarily losing control of the vehicle, which spun 360 degrees.

While he managed to regain control, his trip was short-lived as he reached a dead end.

Jumping out of the car, Lee attempted to jump a fence but police tackled him to the ground and placed him under arrest.

Lee pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to stop and leading police on a pursuit while driving dangerously.

At a sentence hearing, Lee told the court he was stupid to drive away from the police and that he panicked.

He admitted to being under the influence of methamphetamine at the time and accepted he had made a "big hole" for himself and put his freedom in jeopardy.

Lee also accepted he had put his passenger's safety at risk during the pursuit, which the court heard lasted about four minutes.

Court documents revealed Lee had a criminal history that includes traffic offences, shoplifting, grievous bodily harm, larceny, and has been in and out of custody for more than a decade.

The court heard since the pursuit, he has faced further offences, including receiving a conviction in May for driving with an illicit drug in his system.

Further, in July he was involved in a car accident while driving passengers from Wagga to Berrigan, which saw him charged with driving while disqualified and negligent driving.

But the court heard Lee had made attempts to turn his life around, including attending Narcotics Anonymous, receiving drug and alcohol counselling and attending a local church.

Judge Gordon Lerve found Lee was remorseful, noting there were some "extremely positive and encouraging signs".

However, Judge Lerve said he was not satisfied Lee wouldn't re-offend and was "extremely guarded" about ruling there were "good prospects of rehabilitation".

"Much will depend upon the manner in which the offender engages with the various agencies upon his release," he said.

Judge Lerve convicted Lee for one count of failing to stop and leading police in pursuit while driving dangerously and sentenced him to a non-parole period of six months' jail, followed by a nine-month parole period.

The non-parole period was backdated to August 21, with Lee set to be released when that ends on February 20, 2024.

He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months.

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