Man already on bail remanded in custody over alleged dangerous driving

A man has been remanded in custody over an alleged dangerous driving incident from the weekend, which police claim was committed while he was already on bail over similar allegations.

ACT Policing said officers had allegedly seen a Volkswagen Golf speeding on Kingsford Smith Drive in Latham about 8 o’clock on Saturday night (21 January).

The Golf allegedly sped at more than 160km/h on Southern Cross Drive, weaved in and out of traffic and caused other drivers to take evasive action to avoid a collision.

Police tried to stop the Golf on Coulter Drive, but it allegedly failed to do so and continued driving dangerously.

“A short time later, the Golf failed to negotiate a left-hand turn into John Cleland Crescent, Florey, crossing a centre traffic island and colliding with a gutter,” police alleged.

“The driver then fled from the scene, jumping a nearby fence.”

Not long afterward, a Florey resident contacted police about a noise in her garage. It is alleged it was there that officers arrested 28-year-old Jamie Leslie Ziegler.

The Spence man was charged with dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, failing to stop for police and trespassing over allegations from Saturday as well as from 23 November, 2022.

It was alleged he had been speeding at 120km/h in an 80km/h zone on the Barton Highway last November and fled from police before he was arrested hiding in a garden.

He had been released on bail before being arrested again over Saturday’s charges.

Legal Aid’s Ewan Small applied for Mr Ziegler to be released on bail again in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday (23 January).

Mr Small argued his client had substantial prosocial motivations to comply with bail conditions, including his four-year-old child.

But Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker said the allegations were “highly concerning” and there was strong evidence Mr Ziegler had been driving while disqualified.

“I am concerned about the safety of the community,” she said.

She refused bail. Mr Ziegler was remanded in custody to enter pleas on 13 February.