John Harley Mountain told to ‘grow up’ after pleading guilty to firing rifle and starting high-speed pursuit

A Bunbury man who shot an unlicensed rifle and sped away from police when they tried to arrest him was told to “grow up” before being jailed for 18 months. John Harley Mountain, 30, appeared in Bunbury Magistrates Court last week and pleaded guilty to five charges including criminal damage of property, unlicensed possession of a firearm, discharging a firearm to cause fear, drove without a licence and drove a vehicle with an unregistered licence plate. On August 15, Mr Mountain was standing near his parked vehicle on a road in North Boyanup when he allegedly fired a 0.22 rifle from the road near a paddock, where several people unknown to Mountain had gathered. The shot caused damage to a street sign that belonged to the Shire of Capel and the witnesses promptly called police. Two days later, police sighted Mountain driving towards Forrest Highway when they signalled for him to stop. However, Mountain evaded police, travelling along the highway at speeds of 150km/h in the 100km/h zone. Mountain was weaving between the two lanes and gravel at the side of the road, producing plumes of dust and smoke causing police and other motorists to leave the carriageway. On August 18, Mountain was arrested by Police in Glen Iris when he was found to be driving a Honda vehicle with an unregistered Queensland licence plate. Mountain was also driving without a licence which hadn’t held since February 2013. The court heard Mountain had tried very hard to “change who he is as a person,” which was evident by removing his long dreadlocks and facial hair and had stopped smoking while in custody. However, Magistrate Belinda Coleman was unimpressed by Mountains act’s to “change” himself, as she told Mountain he should try harder. “It’s going to take a bit more than cutting off your dreadlocks,” she said. “This behaviour is what I expect from someone 10 years younger.” In handing down the sentence, Ms Coleman told Mountain he was “dangerous to the community” and would require a high level of supervision to remain on track. Mountain was fined over $6200 and received an 18-month prison sentence, backdated to August 18 2021 when he was first taken into custody. He will be eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence.