A man who almost caused a child to be run over by a police vehicle has been jailed after repeated driving offences.
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Gordon Chatfield, 37, of Spring Street appeared before Orange Local Court on May 16, facing several driving and license charges to which he pled guilty.
Court documents showed about 6.30pm on February 24, 2024 police were patrolling Yvonne Crescent in Orange when they spotted Chatfield riding a quad bike.
The quad bike was towing a 13-year old child on a three-wheeled kids toy scooter.
Police noted the child was unable to control the toy and it was sliding towards the police vehicle where it was just metres away from going under the car.
Police then followed Chatfield to an address on Noreen Place where he admitted the quad bike was unregistered in addition to him being unlicensed and uninsured, after which he was arrested.
The court heard Chatfield had a long history of offences, including 10 cases of driving while disqualified, and had never held a license.
"It's a shocker, an absolute shocker," Magistrate David Day said.
Mr Day said there was a real concern regarding public safety, making full-time custody inevitable.
"In my view if he has crossed the custody threshold, a 12 month sentence would be appropriate," he said.
"Community safety must be the paramount consideration. When considering community safety ... full-time detention is more likely to address the offender's risk of re-offending.
"It is clear from Mr Chatfield's record that nothing stops him getting behind the wheel or on the saddle of a motorcycle and putting the community at risk.
"The only way to ensure Mr Chatfield doesn't endanger other people in the community is full-time custody."
He was sentenced to 12-months jail with a non-parole period of nine months.
He was also banned from driving for 12 months.
