Jail for man who tied woman to car

A Mt Barker man who tied a noose to his ex-partner's neck and dragged her around his property in the weeks before ramming her car off Albany Highway was sentenced to five years in prison at Albany District Court yesterday.

Mark Frederick Burt pleaded guilty to 17 breaches of a restraining order, two counts of attempting to corrupt witnesses, intending to harm, omit or do an act which resulted in the life, safety, or health being endangered, driving without a licence, reckless driving and having in his possession 1.6g of amphetamines.

Albany District Court Judge Michael Bowden sentenced Burt to a five-year prison term backdated to June 16 last year with parole eligibility after three years.

Burt was also fined $1000 for driving without authority.

The court heard that on June 9 last year, Burt endangered the life of his ex-partner of 28 years, Sandra Wolfe, by tying one end of a length of rope to the bull bar of his ute and another end in a noose around Ms Wolfe's neck, before driving at a jogging pace at their Mt Barker property.

Burt ordered Ms Wolfe to run behind the vehicle yelling "run you dog, don't stop or I'll go faster" in the presence of their 18-year-old son.

On June 16 last year, Burt spotted Ms Wolfe driving on Albany Highway and followed her before ramming her off the road, causing Ms Wolfe's car to roll twice and land on its roof.

On multiple occasions in July last year, Burt breached a violence restraining order while in custody at Albany Regional Prison and attempted to corrupt a witness - his son Ashley Burt - by using a prison phone requesting him to contact Ms Wolfe to drop the VRO.

In November, Burt wrote two letters from inside prison again asking his son to persuade Ms Wolfe to have the order dropped.

Burt's lawyer Michael Joubert asked Judge Bowden to consider that it was Burt's first time being sentenced for crimes of a violent nature.

Mr Joubert said it should also be considered that in relation to the breaches of the VRO, he did not contact Ms Wolfe directly but through a third party.

State prosecutor Raymond Soh said by tying Ms Wolfe to the car by her neck, Burt had committed a "very serious crime" which was not only dangerous but degrading and humiliating.

Judge Bowden said prison was the only appropriate punishment for Burt.

"Clearly people need to be deterred from behaving in this sort of fashion," he said.