A man who drove a stolen ute straight at an oncoming car, missing it by about 20 centimetres, has been jailed for two and a half years.
Graham John Enniss, 45, was sentenced by Supreme Court judge Michael Brett on October 9.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, evading police, motor vehicle stealing and six counts of driving while disqualified, among other offences.
In recently published sentencing comments, Brett said police tried to stop Enniss around 8:25am on April 30 in a ute stolen the night before.
Enniss repeatedly stopped and drove off as police approached, before officers called off the pursuit.
Police caught up with him again around 11:30am. Over the next 20 minutes, he sped along country roads, swerved and drove on the wrong side of the road for an extended period.
Brett said Enniss drove straight at an oncoming car without slowing, forcing the driver to brake and swerve onto the verge.
“Clearly, there would have been a catastrophic collision if the other vehicle had not avoided you,” Justice Brett said.
Enniss also forced another car off the road on a blind corner before police arrested him on a forestry track.
Brett said Enniss had a “terrible criminal history” dating back to age 14, including 13 convictions for driving while disqualified and five for evading police.
In 2016, Brett jailed him for eight years, partly for offences against police while trying to avoid arrest. The driving ban Enniss breached came from that sentence.
He was refused parole and released in late 2024 without supervision.
“You made a deliberate choice to engage in this criminal conduct,” Brett said.
“You could have withdrawn from the conduct at any time by simply stopping the car but chose not to.”
“The calculated nature of your offending is amply demonstrated by the games you seemed to play with police by stopping then driving off when they got close to you.”
The sentence was backdated to September 20, 2025, giving Enniss credit for time on remand over other charges he was acquitted of.
He will be eligible for parole after 22 months. Brett said this would allow supervision if Enniss showed a genuine commitment to rehabilitation.
Enniss is also banned from driving for five years after his release.
