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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Blake Foden

'Dumb': Man speeding to police station ends up in bike path pursuit

Ryan Myles, who has been refused bail. Picture: Facebook

An alleged burglar's desperate desire to see police quickly gave way to an extreme attempt to evade officers as he sped along a north Canberra bike path, forcing pedestrians to scatter, a court has heard.

Magistrate Louise Taylor remanded Ryan Anthony Myles in custody on Thursday, admonishing the 29-year-old in the process for allegedly putting people in danger by making "dumb" decisions.

Mr Myles, a renderer from Casey, had only just been granted bail on Tuesday, when he had faced the ACT Magistrates Court on charges of burglary and unlawful possession of stolen property.

One of the conditions required him to report to police within a 12-hour window the next day, but Legal Aid lawyer Edward Chen told the court on Thursday that the man had left this to the last minute.

Mr Chen said Mr Myles, desperate not to breach his bail conditions, began "speeding towards Gungahlin Police Station" in an effort to get there by 8pm.

The 29-year-old was already late by the time police say they tried, at 8.02pm on Wednesday, to stop him on Gundaroo Drive after officers spotted him trying to illegally overtake a bus.

Mr Chen told the court Mr Myles "panicked" upon seeing a police car drive up alongside him with its lights and sirens on.

It was at this point that officers say the 29-year-old "accelerated excessively" and steered his motorbike, which had no number plate, onto a bicycle path.

"The defendant continued along the bicycle path at a high speed, with pedestrians having to get off the path to avoid being hit by the motorcycle," officers who pursued him allege in court documents.

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Mr Myles allegedly rode across a BMX track and turned down a pathway behind the Gungahlin Joint Emergency Services Centre.

The next time police spotted him, he had fallen off the motorcycle and was running away through long grass.

Police seized the motorbike, which had not been registered since 2016, as well as a backpack and a helmet that had been left with it.

The bag is said to have contained a number of Mr Myles' business cards, along with an empty packet of prescription medication bearing his name.

Later on Wednesday night, police attended the 29-year-old's home and arrested him.

Officers say he was wearing the same, albeit now grass-stained, clothes he had on at the time they saw him on the bike.

He was charged with failing to stop for police, dangerous driving, using an unregistered vehicle and using an uninsured vehicle.

While Mr Myles did not enter pleas on Thursday, Mr Chen made a number of admissions on his behalf and acknowledged the man's "very poor decisions".

He said Mr Myles, usually a law-abiding person, had a substance abuse issue that appeared to be the cause of his legal woes.

Mr Chen applied for Mr Myles to be granted bail again, albeit with more extensive conditions.

Prosecutor Hannah Lee opposed the 29-year-old's release, saying he had endangered members of the public.

Ms Lee added that Mr Myles was the subject of numerous NSW arrest warrants.

Ms Taylor agreed it was appropriate to refuse bail, saying Mr Myles had shown "a casual disregard for orders of the court".

"It's dumb decision after dumb decision," she said.

"He doesn't have the excuse of youth on his side for making such stupid decisions."

Ms Taylor believed the man's attitude towards authority was not borne of a substance abuse problem, "but rather a confidence that he can get away with it".

"He has come to the end of that road," the magistrate said.

With bail refused, Mr Myles will stay behind bars until his next court appearance on February 22.

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