Robert Francis Taylor, 31, was jailed for four years 10 months after admitting the manslaughter of 26-year-old Michael John McClelland, which occurred following a Dunedin liquor-store burglary and subsequent police chase in May 2023.
Taylor was declined early release, following a hearing last month, after the Parole Board heard he had paid for contraband to be smuggled into prison.
The incident resulted in him being kicked off a Māori therapeutic programme and panel convener Ann-Marie Beveridge said he still needed to undertake "substantial treatment" before he could be safely released.
Taylor and others had been drinking before deciding to burgle a nearby liquor store when they ran out of alcohol.
He drove a stolen Mazda to the Bottle-O in Hillside Rd and waited in Helena St as two of his colleagues used bolt cutters to access the shop’s storage area.
They loaded seven crates of beer into the car, but while they were doing so, a member of the public confronted them and called police.
A patrol unit saw Taylor, driving with the headlights off, turn into Hillside Rd and signalled for him to stop.
Instead, he accelerated away through residential streets, almost hitting another motorist at one stage.
Taylor sped along the narrow Melbourne St and hit the kerb while negotiating a chicane designed to slow traffic.
It caused the Mazda to spin clockwise, skidding out of control at an speed of up to 92kmh.
At sentencing, the court heard the vehicle mounted the kerb, careened through a driveway until it slammed into a power pole and a concrete wall.
The brunt of the impact was taken by the rear left of the car, where Mr McClelland was seated.
Taylor scarpered, leaving his mates in the wreck.
Police later apprehended the driver with the help of a dog unit.
The Parole Board noted that at the time of the incident, Taylor had a relatively stable life.
"Mr Taylor was unable to explain why he and his friends committed the burglary given they were all in fulltime employment and had funds at the time," Ms Beveridge said.
The Otago Corrections Facility inmate had a low-security status, but the board highlighted his previous convictions for breaches of sentence, violence against police, drink-driving and dangerous driving causing injury.
Taylor said he was keen to restart his rehabilitation and address his long-standing alcohol issue.
The board scheduled his next parole hearing for September 2026.
