DPP v Gowshall [2025] ACTSC 490

1. Andrew Gowshall, you pleaded guilty to one count of driving at or near police (CAN 2024/11496) and one count of aggravated dangerous driving (CAN 2024/11498).

2. The maximum penalty for the offence of driving at or near police is 15 years. The maximum penalty for the aggravated dangerous driving offence is a fine of $48,000 and three years’ imprisonment. Under s 63(4) of the Road Transport (General) Act 1999 (ACT) there is an automatic licence disqualification of twelve months or longer if the court so orders.

3. The facts on which you are to be sentenced are as follows.

4. For the first offence: (a) You drove at or near multiple police officers on two different occasions in the context of a lengthy police pursuit while you were driving erratically to evade apprehension. (b) On the first occasion you drove headfirst towards the police vehicle in which Constable Bewick and Constable Quinnell was seated. (c) On the second occasion Constable Bewick was outside her vehicle deploying a Tyre Deflation Device (TDD) and as a result was placed in a more vulnerable position and in far greater danger. (d) There were no other passengers in your vehicle at the time. Your offending occurred in the middle of a Sunday and in relatively close proximity to houses that lined the street.

5. For the second offence, the facts on which you are to be sentenced are as follows: (a) You drove on the wrong side of the road and drove in close proximity to two pedestrians who were walking their dog. You drove onto the green belt at various locations in the pursuit, including their houses and a school. You rear ended another vehicle and continued to drive after the police had successfully deployed the TDD. (b) Your offending occurred in the middle of the day through residential areas along main roads and along shared pedestrian areas. (c) Your dangerous driving lasted for approximately 30 to 35 minutes through a number of residential suburbs. (d) You drove at high speeds when you were pursued by the police. (e) You had used methamphetamine prior to the offending. (f) This offence is statutorily aggravated by virtue of your failure to stop for the police.

6. A further circumstance of aggravation is that you were on bail at the time for other driving offences, one of the conditions of which included a condition not to drive a motor vehicle. This is in itself a significant aggravating factor on sentence.

7. The offences occurred on 17 November 2024.

8. You were arrested on that date and have been in custody since then.

9. After plea negotiations which resulted in you facing fewer charges, you entered pleas of guilty in this court on 9 April 2025. I will therefore apply a discount of 20 percent on account of your pleas of guilty.

10. The two young police officers who were the victims of count one have been profoundly affected by your behaviour on that day. Constable Quinnell explained the fear that is always at the forefront of any police officer’s mind as they go about their duties. That apprehension materialised on that day for both officers. What impacted Constable Quinnell most on that day was not only the danger he personally faced but your complete disregard for the safety of your fellow human beings going about their business on a Sunday morning.

11. Constable Bewick who has been the victim of another similar incident before has been affected even more badly and she now doubts whether she can continue with policing work.

12. These circumstances, on any view of the matter, mean that your offending on that day was objectively very serious. By far the most serious of the two offences is the offence of driving at or near the police officers.

13. While I accept that you were recklessly, rather than intentionally, risking the safety of the two police officers and others and that you drove near as opposed to at the two police officers, nevertheless they were two separate incidents which necessarily means a greater degree of criminality was involved. The fact that the maximum penalty for that offence is 15 years in itself indicates the seriousness with which that offending is to be viewed.

14. I turn now to personal circumstances. You are now 42 years old. Although you have a number of convictions for driving offences, I note that they all occurred between 2006 and 2010 although you appear to have some outstanding matters which have not yet been disposed of.

15. I have read the psychological report dated 1 July 2025 tendered on your behalf. I accept that at the time of your offending you were suffering from a persistent depressive disorder with suicidal ideation. It is evident from that report and from the information provided by family members that in 2023 you suffered a number of stressful events in your life. These events cause the onset of the depressive illness and caused you to increase your drug use in order to alleviate stress. You began using hard drugs which caused a further decline in your mental health, a vicious cycle which ultimately resulted in you exhibiting reckless behaviour. That report indicates that you were already experiencing mental and behavioural disturbances in September 2024 some two months prior to the commission of these offences.

16. I accept that you have exhibited a degree of remorse for your offending notwithstanding the comments you made at the time of the preparation of the presentence reports. Your counsel told me that these comments were more about your frustration about the issue of the previous warrant which you were unaware of at the time and your inability to understand at the time why the police wanted you.

17. I have taken into account the letter which I received from your stepfather, your mother and your sister. It is evident that you have a good work record and that you have a good deal of family support. The corrections department have now assessed you as a suitable candidate for an intensive correction order. The material in the presentence reports and in the letters tendered on your behalf give me some confidence that you are capable of rehabilitating yourself and once again becoming a useful and productive member of the community.

18. I have also taken into account the comparative table of sentences tendered by the prosecution at the sentencing hearing.

19. This and the fact that you have now spent almost one year in custody has caused me to accept your counsel’s submission that it is appropriate that I impose an intensive correction order.

20. Because I intend to take into account the almost one year in custody by imposing an intensive correction order, I will sentence you for the offence of aggravated dangerous driving first.

Orders

21. The orders of the Court are: (1) For the offence of aggravated dangerous driving (CAN 2024/11498), you are convicted and sentenced to 9 months and 18 days imprisonment reduced from 12 months (by 20 percent discount) in recognition of your plea of guilty. I order that the term of imprisonment commence on 17 November 2024 which means that you have now completed serving that sentence because the end date was 3 September 2025. (2) Further, pursuant to s 69 of the Road Transport (General) Act 1999 (ACT), I order that the automatic disqualification period for the offence of aggravated dangerous driving be extended for a period of two years to start from today. (3) For the offence of driving at or near police (CAN 2024/11496), you are convicted and sentenced to 2 years, 4 months and 24 days imprisonment reduced from 3 years (by 20 percent discount) in recognition of your plea of guilty and further reduced by the additional 66 days you have spent in custody referable to this matter from 3 September 2025 to today, 7 November 2025. I order that the term of imprisonment commence today, 7 November 2025 and expire on 25 January 2028, with a total term of 2 years, 2 months and 19 days. (4) I order that the sentence of imprisonment for the offence of driving at or near police be served by way of intensive correction order subject to the core conditions listed in s 42 of the Crimes (Sentence Administration) Act 2005 (ACT).

I certify that the preceding twenty-one [21] numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Sentence of her Honour Acting Justice Kelly. Associate: Date: