A SERIAL hoon has pleaded to be spared jail, on the day Victoria recorded its 200th road death for the year.
Jamie Alex Tabone's lawyer argued he had lost the ability to make decisions four years ago, after suffering a head injury - when he smashed his car into a tree.
A magistrate heard yesterday that Tabone, 23, of Berwick, drove his high-performance car at speeds of more than 230km/h, at night with his headlights off, while fleeing police last December.
One night two weeks later, he was at it again, fleeing police at 140km/h. This time he crashed, and ran and hid among trees.
Ringwood Magistrates' Court heard yesterday that at the time, Tabone had already lost his licence for a litany of driving offences, including two other police pursuits.
In 2008, he was disqualified from driving for three years after pleading guilty to four counts of driving while disqualified and one of reckless conduct endangering life.
Yesterday he pleaded guilty to reckless conduct endangering life, three charges of driving while disqualified, two of evading police, and one each of drink-driving and dangerous driving.
The charges related to police pursuits on the Melba Highway, in the Yarra Valley, last December and in Warragul on January 3, and a third occasion when he was pulled over for driving while disqualified in Ferntree Gully on April 21.
Tabone boasts about his XR8 Ford Falcon on MySpace. Under a picture of it, he calls it a "weapon" and "t bones pride an joy".
Defence lawyer Richard Davis told the court he was "gobsmacked and bewildered" when initially told of his client's driving charges.
"It just defies logic. He's a peril on the roads - we're talking high speeds," he said.
Mr Davis said the acquired brain injury his client suffered in 2006 had been untreated, and he needed to take a drug normally used for epilepsy to normalise his behaviour.
"He knows what's right and wrong, but it's cognitive processes in this case," he said.
He called on magistrate Tony Parsons to spare his client jail, and instead impose an intensive corrections order that would see Tabone do unpaid community work.
Prosecutor Sen-Constable Louise Heal said Tabone's driving was extremely immature and irresponsible.
The case was adjourned to next Thursday for a pre-sentence assessment.
Just saw this on ten news, anyone else see it? They got footage of the police chasing him, he drives a white ED XR8 with the plates similar to JTWPN, wonder if he's on the forums lol
And you don't **** up as many times as that guy did.
