Edward Evarn Rodd: Albany man sentenced to jail time for police chase across Perth ending in roof arrest

An Albany man has been sentenced to two years in prison for a string of incidents including evading police in a high-speed chase through Perth’s southern suburbs which ended in a dramatic rooftop arrest last December. Edward Evarn Rodd, 38, evaded police in a stolen car for more than an hour across several suburbs on December 9, reaching speeds of up to 160km/h and at times crossing into oncoming traffic. The chase ended in Fremantle when Rodd abandoned the car and climbed on to the roof of a building. He was arrested after 40 minutes of negotiations and brought to the ground by a cherry picker. Rodd appeared in Albany Magistrates Court last Friday via video link from Albany Regional Prison on a total of 31 charges, all of which he had entered guilty pleas to on March 2. He faced five charges over the December 9 incident, including reckless driving, failing to stop following an incident and never holding a driver’s licence. Police prosecutor Sergeant Matt Hartfield told the court Rodd was driving a Subaru Forester Rodd during the incident which had been stolen from a home in Bentley. About 10am on December 9, police officers saw Rodd driving the car on Melville Beach Parade in Applecross and followed him with their lights and sirens on and called for him to stop. Rodd refused to stop and led the officers on a chase during which he crossed on to the wrong side of the road, drove through red lights, hit a stationary car and caused other drivers to “take evasive action” to avoid a collision. After 80 minutes Rodd abandoned the car on Tuckfield Street in Fremantle and climbed on to the roof of the nearby Naval Store. Police negotiated with Rodd on the rooftop for 40 minutes before he was arrested. Police found Rodd had never held a driver’s licence and had been issued a suspension in October 2022 until January 2023. Rodd was also sentenced for breaking into and stealing a safe from the Home Living Store in Cockburn Central in early December, and a series of stealing, burglary and gaining benefit by fraud offences in Albany committed during October. Defence lawyer Elizabeth Hamilton told the court Rodd’s memory of the events was “scant”. She said he was not involved in stealing the Subaru Forester and his cousins had given him the car. Ms Hamilton said Rodd’s offending last year followed a five-month period in which he had stayed drug-free and not committed any offences, which she said he seemed “somewhat proud of” as he would usually commit a home burglary every week. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan said Rodd’s consumption of illicit drugs and alcohol had caused him to “spiral” into offending again. She said Rodd had spent a large part of his adult life in prison, and would need to put in “hard work” to limit reoffending. “You’re now getting to a point where your life is wasting away in prison before your very eyes,” Ms Scaddan said. He was fined $1700 and sentenced to a total of two years in prison, backdated to December 9, and made eligible for parole.