A MAN on parole for stabbing a young woman with a pair of scissors during a domestic violence attack at Lambton in 2018 has admitted to leading police on a pursuit that ended when he crashed and rolled his car into a business at Hamilton South.
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Learner driver Mitchell Sutton, now 29, was trapped inside the Toyota Aurion on its side and police watched as he started stomping his feet on the door, quickly realising he was attempting to destroy a crystal substance that turned out to be nine grams of methamphetamine.
Sutton, who had made a failed bid to have his matters dealt with in the Hunter Drug Court, appeared in Newcastle Local Court last week and pleaded guilty to police pursuit, supplying methamphetamine and possession of a firearm silencer.
He remains behind bars and will next appear in Newcastle District Court next month to get a sentence date.
Sutton was on parole, had only his learner's drivers license and was subject to a firearm and weapons prohibition order when he was spotted blowing through a stop sign in Fowler Street at Hamilton South about 9.20pm on July 11 last year.
Police followed him and watched as he again drove through a stop sign and turned into Glebe Road.
Police tried to pull Sutton over when he got to Llewellyn Street, but he sped away and led them on a short pursuit through Merewether.
He ran a red light and turned back onto Glebe Road and was doing about 90km/h when he entered the intersection of Stewart Avenue, crossing onto the wrong side of the road in an attempt to avoid traffic and crashing into a Kia Cerato.
The impact forced both cars onto the footpath, Sutton's car rolling onto its side and the other vehicle being pushed about 20 metres through a fence and careering into the front of Triggerpoint Natural Health Centre.
Police stopped nearby, saw Sutton was inside and uninjured and then watched as he began stomping his feet on the inside of the door. Police later found nine grams of methamphetamine inside the car.
Police used a sledgehammer to smash out the windscreen and extricate Sutton from the car before he was taken to hospital and later charged.
The next day police searched a house at Hamilton South where Sutton had been staying and found a black firearm silencer.
Sutton was in 2019 jailed for a maximum of six years, with a non-parole period of three years and six months after he pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Sutton was eligible for release in October, 2021 and still had nine months to serve on parole when he was arrested over the pursuit and crash in July last year.
