Any question as to why 30-year-old Zane Taitoa Currie embarked on such a wild spree were answered by a blood sample he gave when finally arrested.
It revealed the level of methamphetamine in his system was eight times the high-risk threshold, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
It was "extraordinarily high", Judge David Robinson remarked.
Counsel Brendan Stephenson said his client had been drug-free and in a stable relationship, but with a breakup last year, the spiral into relapse began.
Currie had been released from prison — serving a sentence for drugs and driving charges — in November 2023, and it was only weeks before he courted trouble again.
In January last year, he was caught driving while disqualified for the eighth time and his car was impounded.
He then stopped showing up to appointments with Probation, in breach of his prison release conditions.
Currie was charged, but granted bail on the strict condition he did not drive.
However, by the time April rolled around, his meth use was escalating and he went on to commit 15 crimes in as many days.
First there was a police chase, which was abandoned after Currie ran a red light, then he received a stolen Ford, which had earlier been used in a burglary. When the defendant had finished with the vehicle it needed $8454 in repairs.
On May 8, the elusive Currie stole a Volkswagen from a mechanic’s premises in the early hours of the morning, setting in motion a dramatic sequence of events.
He seemed uninterested in keeping a low profile.
Police saw the defendant speeding through Green Island and again gave chase.
When he turned into a panel-beaters’ carpark, police had him almost penned in.
Currie made a U-turn and smashed into the patrol car of Sergeant Hugh Tait.
"You effectively used the vehicle as a weapon," Judge Robinson said.
Leaving the police car inoperable, Currie screeched away, slamming into two customers’ cars and leaving skid marks stretching for about 30m.
Hitting another dead-end street, the defendant fled on foot and was seen by witnesses looking into the windows of houses and vehicles as he went.
Currie burst into one home in Owen St and, when confronted by the resident, claimed he was looking for his brother.
He jumped fences and dashed through yards before he was ultimately collared in Mulford St.
In the stolen Volkswagen, police found a baseball bat, which Currie said was for "personal protection", as well as cannabis and a bong.
When later asked for comment on his state, the defendant said he was "so off it, bro".
The court heard Currie had more than 100 convictions to his name, many of which were for similar crimes.
He had been indefinitely disqualified from driving in 2014 and had since chalked up 10 convictions for breaching that ban.
Mr Stephenson said Currie planned to attend intensive rehabilitation once released from prison but the judge noted he had failed to take advantage of such opportunities in the past.
Without treatment, his risk of reoffending was "very high", he said.
"We’re at the point I need to protect the community from you," Judge Robinson said.
Currie was jailed for three years and disqualified from driving for the same period.
rob.kidd@odt.co.nz, Court reporter
