A WOMAN who rammed a police car to avoid arrest in Bendigo has been told she does not deserve another chance at a community corrections order.
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Rebecca Sawka, 27, appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court last week where she pleaded guilty to charges including damaging an emergency service worker vehicle.
The court heard on October 2 last year, Sawka and an associate went to the Bendigo Myer store on Pall Mall and grabbed men's Calvin Klein tops and underwear, valued at more than $70.
Sawka went to a fitting room and put on the clothing, before discarding the packaging and leaving.
She was on bail at the time for other offences.
The court heard then on October 15, an off-duty police officer saw Sawka in the driver's seat of a parked car at Lansell Square in Kangaroo Flat.
The officer called 000 and uniformed officers arrived to arrest Sawka, but the 27-year-old rammed the marked police car before colliding with a parked van and fleeing.
She was captured on CCTV footage speeding south along the Calder Freeway.
Sawka was disqualified from driving at the time of the offending.
The next day, police attended the property of Sawka's boyfriend and located the 27-year-old.
The car she used in the ramming was also at the property and had extensive damage to its front panel.
The vehicle was displaying false registration plates.
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Police arrested Sawka and brought her to the Bendigo Police Station for questioning. She made a no-comment interview in relation to the allegations.
Defence lawyer Louise Conwell told the court Sawka had relapsed into drug use in May 2020.
Ms Conwell said her client also did not have stable accommodation at the time and was associating with bad people.
The lawyer submitted that given Sawka was only 27 years old and had already served 10 months in custody for the offending, a community corrections order would be an appropriate sentence.
But Magistrate Sharon McRae said Sawka had previously failed to comply with numerous corrections orders.
Ms McRae said the police car ramming was an "inherently dangerous act" and that Sawka had done the same offending "time and time again".
"I'm really not satisfied that a community corrections order is the way to go," Ms McRae said.
Ms Conwell told the court that Sawka would be facing the County Court this week for other charges, so the magistrate adjourned sentencing to later this week.
Sawka was remanded in custody until her next court date.
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