The day after the pursuit, Mark Douglas Ortlipp went to the Albury police station to claim he had parked the ute outside his old home in Springdale Heights.

Ortlipp walked to the Springdale Heights Tavern, he said, stayed for about half an hour then was picked up by his wife and went to his new residence.

It was when he returned the next day, January 20, that he found the ute stolen.

He later admitted he lied, but only when police went to his home on January 26. Ortlipp said he knew who was driving.

Ortlipp, 36, had expected to be sentenced in Albury Local Court this week over the incident but legal issues mean he will not be sentenced until March 13.

He pleaded guilty to charges of false report resulting in police investigation and two counts of drive while disqualified, with police withdrawing a charge of accessory after the fact of a police pursuit.

But there was uncertainty as to whether the second drive while disqualified qualified as a second offence.

Defence solicitor Mark Cronin said his understanding was that a “second offence” charge related to the dates of conviction as opposed to dates of offending, though this was not clear.

“I should look at that in fairness to my client.”

Magistrate Imad Abdul-Karim agreed clarification was needed before sentencing took place.

“It’s an important issue,” he said, because if the second charge was deemed to be a second offence of disqualified driving “it’s a doubling of penalties”.

The court heard how Ortlipp “has been through challenging times” over the six months leading up to the offences “involving illicit drug use and relationship breakdowns”.

Police said Ortlipp’s friend reached speeds of up to 140km/h in a 60km/h zone in Mate Street and later between 160km/h and 180km/h. They abandoned the pursuit when the man drove towards an oncoming vehicle while exiting the Hume Freeway.