A CARJACKER knew he had "f***ed up" when he discovered a baby was sleeping in the backseat of the vehicle he had just stolen at Lake Macquarie.
Ryan Lee Harris was using drugs and not thinking clearly when he spotted a Jeep with the driver's door open at Bennetts Green on the afternoon of November 19.
The owner had briefly jumped out to throw items in a nearby skip bin, but Harris struck quickly, jumping in and slamming the vehicle into reverse.
The 27-year-old Learner driver claimed he did not hear the father yell "oi, get out, my daughter is in the car", then repeatedly shout "my daughter is in the car" as he ran after Harris.
Belmont Local Court heard on Wednesday that Harris had acted opportunistically and was "mortified" when he realised a one-year-old girl was asleep in a car seat in the back.
His defence solicitor told the court he had immediately tried to "safely stow the vehicle" in the car park and ensure the sleeping baby had "adequate ventilation" before he ditched the Jeep and fled.
Harris slammed into a vehicle as a witness tried to cut him off to stop him escaping, but he picked himself up and took off into bushland on foot, leaving behind his iPhone and a glove.
His defence solicitor told the court Harris said he could understand why the witness had tried to "run me over".
"I would never have taken the car if I knew the kid was in there," Harris said, according to his lawyer.
"I've done some seriously stupid shit ... I f***ed up.
"I would give anything to apologise to the family for what I have done."
The defence solicitor said Harris hadn't heard the child's father yell out to him, hadn't used violence to carjack the vehicle, and only drove about 150 metres, but accepted it would have been "every parent's worst nightmare" to watch it unfold.
Police were called and crime scene officers combed the area, before police homed in on Harris having a shower at his mother's house just after 3pm the next day.
In Belmont Local Court on Wednesday, magistrate Stephen Olischlager sentenced Harris to 18 months in prison, with 10 months non-parole.
He found special circumstances in the case after hearing details of Harris' troubled background.
With time already served, Harris will be eligible for release in September.
Harris had pleaded guilty to unlawfully taking and driving a motor vehicle with a person in it.
His sentence on Wednesday also covered separate charges he had pleaded guilty to, of stealing a motorbike from Charlestown, and stealing a package of kitchen utensils worth more than $500 from outside a Belmont restaurant.
