Damien Lyndon Woods: Albany man jailed after reckless driving incidents and “relentless” abuse of his partner

An Albany man who drove recklessly through suburban streets, including directly at officers inside a police car, and persistently abused his partner, has been jailed this week. Damien Lyndon Woods, 42, was sentenced in Albany Magistrates Court on Tuesday on 15 charges after a trial was abandoned on Monday when he changed his pleas to guilty. Prosecutor Sgt Gary Simpson said that on June 11, 2025, Woods was driving a black Holden Commodore in McKail when police turned on their lights, indicating he should pull over. Instead, Woods accelerated away from them, driving at speed and through a roundabout on the wrong side of the road, directly towards an oncoming civilian vehicle. Police lost sight of Woods’ car for a short time, but saw him again and reactivated their lights and sirens, indicating he should stop. He drove directly at the police vehicle at speed, leaving the officers to brake heavily to avoid a collision and brace for a crash, before he swerved away at the last second and sped away again. Police did not continue the road chase, but Woods was located and arrested the following day, while also in possession of 0.1g of methamphetamine. Earlier on the same day, police visited the Spencer Park residence Woods was living at with his partner. Suspecting his partner had called the police on him, he lashed out at her, hitting her on the leg with a metal torch, leaving extensive bruising. After Woods was arrested on June 12, he was served a 72-hour police order that prohibited all contact with the victim. On June 13, Woods drove to a house in Lockyer where the victim was staying and demanded she collect her things and get in the car with him. He then drove her to Katanning, a move Sgt Simpson said completely isolated her from her support networks and made her vulnerable, and was in violation of the police order he had been served the previous day. In Katanning, the court was told Woods kept hold of the victim’s mobile phone, which she had been given by Anglicare, and did not let her use it to contact family or check in on her young child in Albany. On June 16, the victim tried to leave the house where she and Woods were staying, walking out the front door and sitting on the ground in the front yard. Woods demanded she go back inside, and dragged her to her feet by her hair when she would not obey. The victim ran away from him down the street until he caught up to her, where she curled up on the ground to protect herself. Woods kicked her and punched her face, leaving her with a black eye, before the victim managed to get to her feet and keep running, seeking refuge inside a local business. Woods was also charged with four breaches of a family violence restraining order, all of which Sgt Simpson said stemmed from phone calls with the victim while Woods was in prison, facilitated by the victim’s mother. Sgt Simpson said Woods’ actions had “endangered the entire community and made the victim’s life a living hell”, with his reckless driving showing no regard for anyone’s safety, including his own, and his “relentless” violence against his partner leaving her traumatised. Defence lawyer Kyah Langdon said Woods’ relationship with the victim was “very complicated”, and marred by meth and heavy alcohol use. She said Woods’ underlying issues, including substance abuse and the extended impacts of traumatic events in his younger years were “not being addressed in custody”. She noted Woods had spent almost 300 days in custody, and had not been granted a community-based order or suspended prison term for around 20 years. Magistrate Rosemarie Myers said Woods displayed an “entrenched propensity for offending” and agreed that Woods’ actions behind the wheel showed a “complete disregard” for anyone else’s safety. She said it was evident Woods did not respect police orders, with his behaviour towards his partner indicating a “lack of maturity and emotional regulation” and revealing a need to exert control over the victim. Woods was sentenced to one year and two months in prison, with his sentence backdated to June 17, 2025, and was made eligible for parole. He was fined a total of $2000 for the offending while his driver’s licence was disqualified for a further 12 months.