Police pursuit driver in court

Police were led on a high-speed pursuit and needed to set up road spikes to stop an 18-year-old Wanganui man fleeing from them in a stolen vehicle, a court has heard.

Having spent most of January 27 in Marton, Jordan Thomas Cornor and his 16-year-old associate wanted to return to Wanganui but had no means of transport.

However, about 10pm, the pair found a car with keys in the ignition on the driveway outside a property in Hawkestone Rd. They used it to travel to Wanganui; Cornor was the driver.

The next day about 1.30pm Cornor drove his associate and three others to Thirsty Liquor, where his associate made off with two 18-can boxes of Cody's alcoholic beverages worth $30 each.

At 3.40pm, the group turned up at the Gull service station on the corner of Victoria Ave and London St. Cornor's associate got out of the car and topped it up with $50 of diesel without payment.

By 4pm, another box of Cody's cans was stolen from Sai Wholesale Liquor and, at 5.50pm, $77.22 of diesel from BP in Levin.

About 6.30pm, police saw the group travelling in the stolen vehicle along Ratanui Rd in Paraparaumu and began a pursuit. But after reaching speeds of 110km/h and seeing Cornor use a median strip to overtake another vehicle, the pursuit was abandoned.

Another pursuit began when the vehicle was seen again in Paraparaumu by police, but Cornor still failed to pull over, even after he had crashed into a vehicle ahead of him and reversed into a concrete wall.

He was eventually stopped, although only after the car ran over spikes near Paekakariki.

Cornor then blew 639 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 400mcg.

He had been disqualified from driving for six months on August 24 last year.

In the Whanganui District Court on Tuesday, Cornor admitted unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, recklessly operating a motor vehicle, failing to stop for the police, driving with an excess breath-alcohol level and driving while disqualified.

He was remanded in custody to April 4 for sentencing.