A YOUNG man who escaped police and hid in his grandmother's cupboard has been sentenced to six months imprisonment.
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Tyler Allwell, 23, was on bail for other matters when he went to report to police using the phone at Werris Creek Police Station on April 13.
A warrant was out for his arrest, so officers tried to take him into custody at about 5:10pm.
Allwell broke free of their clutches, jumped in his mother's Toyota Rav4 and fled the scene.
Police patrolled the area and found the car outside a house in Wilkie Street.
A crowd of locals confirmed Allwell had jumped the fence of his grandma's home.
Officers found him hiding in the cupboard in the front bedroom.
Defence solicitor Geoffrey Archer argued in terms of seriousness, the escape was on the lower end of the scale.
"He's pulled away, it's not like he dug a tunnel in the bottom of the cells to escape from Alcatraz," he said.
"Your honour will not a conviction of this nature will be placed on his record, which means anytime in the future he goes into custody he will serve that time in a more onerous fashion than the normal prisoner.
"If I can classify someone as a normal prisoner."
Allwell pleaded guilty to a charge of resist police officer in execution of duty and escaping police custody.
He escaped a second time by shimmying out of his shirt when police tried to handcuff him at the front of his grandmother's house.
Officers chased him down the street, where he ran through the greens at the bowling club, jumped a fence and went into a yard.
He was later arrested.
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Magistrate Julie Soars rejected a request of a non-conviction and argued an example needed to be made to the community.
"There is a strong issue with general deterrence," she said.
"The community needs to know you can't just run away from police otherwise the whole system breaks down."
Allwell was convicted and sentenced to six months and one week imprisonment backdated to the day of his arrest.
He was released on Tuesday, subject to a 12-month community corrections order.
Madeline Link
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
