David is then jailed and Joel visits him to demand his money back but David has the last laugh when he riles him about Gypsy, angering him. David escapes from prison several months later to retrieve the money he stole, which is buried in the bush but is enraged to discover that Duncan Stewart (Brendan McKensy) and Gazza Boyd (Sebastian Huber) have already found the money. He then threatens to harm Duncan and his mother, Ailsa (Judy Nunn). He orders Duncan to retrieve the money from Gazza and warns him Ailsa will be hurt if he calls the police. David then gags Ailsa and takes Duncan hostage and tries to flee the country with his accomplice Lauren Healy (Merridy Eastman). Joel tracks David down with several officers and the chase culminates in David losing his footing and Joel saves him from a cliff fall. He files a complaint against Joel, alleging that he hit him, bloodying his nose but Joel proves his innocence and David is jailed once more. Rachel Browne of "The Sun-Herald" listed David's vendetta among the best television cliffhangers at the close of the 1998 Australian television season. Ahead of the 1999 Season premiere, she described David as a "Hooded Psycho bent on revenge". David's kidnapping of Gypsy and stalking of the Nash family was nominated for "Most Dramatic Storyline" at the 1999 Inside Soap Awards.