SHIRTLESS, sweaty and out of breath, Gary John Wright casually answered the door to detectives and the NSW Police Dog Unit about 1pm on February 14 this year as if he hadn't just led them on a pursuit and then sprinted through backyards in suburban Raymond Terrace.
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"I can't believe I done a f---ing carjacking," Wright said to the police as he was being led away in handcuffs. "I don't do carjackings. F---, I'm going away for years."
An hour earlier, Wright, 32, had threatened and assaulted two men, aged 72 and 83, in separate carjackings in Newcastle West.
Wright had stolen the 83-year-old's car with the man still in the passenger seat, the pair wrestling as Wright drove down Wood Street before he stopped and ordered the man to "get out".
Then he had been spotted at Mayfield, speeding past and side-swiping cars that were in his way and smashing into the back of vehicles that were stopped at traffic lights.
Then, finally, detectives at Raymond Terrace spotted Wright coming towards them on the wrong side of the road.
Police gave chase and the pursuit reached 100km/h in suburban streets before it was terminated when Wright went around a roundabout in the wrong direction.
Police later found the stolen car in Rosetta Way, Raymond Terrace, and police dog Ulrich tracked Wright's scent to a home in nearby Brown Street.
Detectives called for those inside the home to come outside and a shirtless, sweaty and out of breath Wright came to the front door.
And as he was being led away in handcuffs, the reality began to set in.
"I can't believe I done a f---ing carjacking," Wright said to the police. "I don't do carjackings. F---, I'm going away for years." Wright has pleaded guilty to assault with intent to take a motor vehicle, demanding property with menaces, police pursuit, negligent driving and driving while disqualified and will be sentenced in Newcastle District Court in February.
The pursuit unfolded after a couple was leaving a dentist surgery in Wood Street, Newcastle West about 1pm on February 14 when Wright quickly approached from across the road.
Wright struggled for the keys and screamed at the 72-year-old man, who fled back into the dentist.
He looked inside the vehicle but then turned his attention to the car parked behind, which had an 83-year-old man sitting in the passenger seat.
Wright opened the door and tried to get in, but the 83-year-old fought back, first trying to put Wright in a headlock and then repeatedly punching him in the face.
Wright managed to reverse the car out of the parking spot, repeatedly smashing into the vehicle behind, and drove down Wood Street, wrestling with the man before he ordered him out and headed to Raymond Terrace.
