A magistrate has acknowledged there was "a lot of grief" in a young North Albury man's life, but now was the time for him to "outgrow" his recidivist offending.
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Jake James McEwan will languish behind bars until October 3 after a police pursuit two weeks ago ended a rare crime-free stretch.
"He managed to stay out of trouble for the best part of nine months," defence lawyer Dominic Holles told Albury Local Court.
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Mr Holles said McEwan, 24, was only released from jail on parole in March, 2019, ending a period where he had been consistently in trouble with the law.
His troubles were exacerbated by him beginning to use illicit substances at 15 and methamphetamine at 17.
Mr Holles said McEwan was distressed in the lead-up to the pursuit by the death of a cousin in a car accident.
"A lot of grief," magistrate Richard Funston interjected.
"He has to outgrow all of this."
Mr Holles said McEwan had been drug-free up until November, which "was probably the most positive thing".
McEwan pleaded guilty to charges of police pursuit and being a driver never licensed.
The court was told police were patrolling the North Albury area on January 4 about 12.15pm when they saw a stolen car stopped in Resolution Street.
They did a U-turn and caught up with the car in Captain Cook Drive.
McEwan then "accelerated harshly" on to Logan Road, reaching 100km/h in what was a 60km/h zone.
The officers turned on their car's lights and sirens and began the pursuit, which wound a path throughout North Albury.
McEwan repeatedly reached speeds of 80km/h to 90km/h in what were 50km/h residential zones, only pulling over because of a punctured tyre. He was arrested in the backyard of a house in Plover Street.
When interviewed by police, McEwan said of his driving: "Yeah, I don't know if it was dangerous. You tell me."
Mr Funston said it could at least be said that McEwan slowed down going through intersections, though he highlighted the extreme risk his driving posed to police and to other motorists who had to take evasive action.
He told McEwan in sentencing him to 18 months, with a non-parole period of nine months, to "make this your last-ever jail term".
"You can go on and still have a good life and get a job or you'll end up in custody for the rest of your life."
McEwan was disqualified from obtaining a driver's licence for two years.
