After not having slept for days, Colin Flower had some wine and a burger and fell asleep in a stranger's bed
A man who left a trail of destruction after a day-long, drug-fuelled rampage was eventually collared by cops in the most unlikely place.
Colin Flower was found in the bed of a 12-year-old North Shore girl nine hours after police saw him driving erratically and tried to pull him over.
During the crime spree, he drove on the wrong side of the road, sped through red lights, punched a 91-year-old, tried to pull a woman out of a car while her children were in the back and eventually broke into a family's home for a feed and a nap.
When police found him tucked up in bed at the Bayswater address Flower explained: "I had not slept or eaten for several days. I owed money to some serious people who threatened my family. My head was in a hole. I was hungry, lost and scared. I was in a bad way."
At North Shore District Court yesterday Judge Lawrence Hinton jailed him for three years.
Flower had been accepted into a residential rehabilitation programme to address his drug addiction but the judge said prison was the only option.
"There's no basis on which I can sentence you to home detention," he said.
"You must be held accountable for this grievous offending."
Police spotted Flower on the morning of May 5 on State Highway 16 where he veered into roadworks to overtake commuters heading into the city.
When police tried to pull him over, he headed north on to the Northern Motorway, exiting at Esmonde Rd "well in excess" of the 50km/h speed limit.
Police lost him when Flower dumped the car and fled on foot.
The drug-fuelled defendant ran down Velma Rd in Hillcrest where he spotted a couple putting two children in their car.
Court documents said Flower "began grabbing [the woman] by the arm and shoulder and trying to forcibly rip her out of the vehicle in an attempt to steal the motor vehicle".
She was able to push him away but moments later Flower noticed a 91-year-old man in his garden across the road and sprinted straight into the house.
He grabbed a set of car keys and when the elderly victim tried to snatch them back, Flower punched him and made off in a Toyota parked nearby.
A neighbour spotted the brazen robbery and managed to open the back door of the car, being dragged along as he did so.
But the good Samaritan eventually had to let go, fearing serious injury.
Police picked up the chase again as Flower accelerated down Coronation Rd to Glenfield.
"The defendant frequently travelled through intersections without looking and travelled on the wrong side of the road," the police summary said.
Police gave up the pursuit because of Flower's erratic driving but eight hours later Flower was snared by a quick-thinking 12-year-old.
The sleepy defendant had broken into a Bayswater family home, helped himself to wine, pre-mixed spirits and a hamburger, changed into the clothes belonging to the woman who lived there and tucked himself up in bed.
When the 12-year-old came home from school and found Flower there, she tiptoed out of the house and called police.
The court yesterday heard Flower had a slew of previous convictions in Australia.
May 5, 7.42am -- Seen driving erratically on State Highway 16, using a roadworks lane to overtake traffic. Speeds away from police
8.10am -- After dumping the vehicle in Hillcrest, Flower tries to pull a woman out of her car as her two children look on
8.15am -- He steals car keys from a 91-year-old man and punches him before leaving the property in his car. Police try to stop him as he speeds through Glenfield, crashing into the back of another vehicle, but have to give up the chase for public safety.
4.40pm -- Having broken into a Bayswater house, Flower is spotted sleeping in the bed of a 12-year-old girl, who calls police.