A tradesman opening a gate to his yard turned to find a stranger at the wheel of his ute, who then sped off in the vehicle.

Disqualified driver Nicholas Tripp led police on a chase from Nelson, where he weaved through dense traffic, to Wakefield, 30km south, where he stopped at a dairy to buy tobacco.

He hoped to get to Christchurch, Judge Bruce Davidson said while sentencing Tripp on Wednesday.

Tripp evaded police at the dairy, then ran rampant through the village of Wakefield, pulling open car doors and yelling at drivers to get out.

In one instance, he tried to open the door of a vehicle as the driver grabbed it and pulled it shut, then screamed: “Help me, help me, the police are gonna get me”.

The 34-year-old with an “extensive list of previous offending” over 14 years was sentenced in the Nelson District Court to 22 months in prison on 11 charges.

Most sprang from his “offending spree” on June 17, which resulted in multiple victims, police said.

Tripp had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of unlawfully taking a vehicle, attempting to take a vehicle, unlawfully interfering with a vehicle, driving while disqualified on a third or subsequent time, two burglary charges including one over $5000, driving dangerously, theft and assaulting a female.

‘Seized opportunity’

On the morning of June 17 this year, a landscaping firm worker parked his ute at the entrance to the company’s yard in central Nelson.

Tripp, who has convictions for driving while disqualified on two occasions and driving while suspended on four occasions, was nearby and found the ute running while the driver got out to unlock the entrance gate.

Tripp, who was on intensive supervision for earlier offending, got in the vehicle and sped off, police said.

He “impulsively seized the opportunity” to get in the vehicle and drive off, Judge Davidson said.

The worker called police and tracked the vehicle via a company GPS tracking app.

Tripp threw away the worker’s cellphone stored in the vehicle’s drinks holder as he sped south, thinking it might stop the ability to track his movements.

“Your driving was very dangerous, including that you overtook a truck laden with fuel and were undertaking other vehicles,” Judge Davidson said.

As Tripp reached State Highway 6 south of Richmond he went through a busy intersection and overtook a road contracting firm’s fuel truck, narrowly missing it as he passed, police said.

He then undertook a vehicle and continued south before overtaking another vehicle, forcing three oncoming vehicles to take evasive action and pull to the left to avoid a collision, police said.

Tripp passed officers waiting for him at a site before Wakefield and continued to undertake other southbound vehicles as he entered the village.

Stopped for tobacco

He stopped outside a local dairy and bakery, went in and asked for a packet of tobacco.

As the staff member turned her back, Tripp reached through a plastic barrier, took a cigarette lighter and hid it in his pocket.

He then reached under the barrier and grabbed the staff member by the arm as she held the tobacco.

Unable to get the tobacco, he took another lighter instead, police said.

As he went to get back in the ute he saw a police officer approaching and began running away, discarding the stolen items in a bush and tossing his wallet into a boat parked nearby, police said.

Tripp then spotted another ute parked on the roadside, with the driver at the wheel.

Police said Tripp banged on the driver’s door before trying to pull it open, but the driver held the door and pulled it shut.

Tripp then screamed at him, “Help me, help me, the police are gonna get me”, before running off when he saw the officer in pursuit.

He spied another vehicle parked nearby and punched the driver’s window multiple times in an attempt to break in.

The officer caught up with Tripp and told him he was under arrest.

But Tripp ran off again and into a nearby property through an open gate.He got into a vehicle parked there and while rummaging for the keys, the officer opened the driver’s door.

Tripp climbed out the passenger side and ran to another property where he tried to get into a vehicle, but it was locked.

Another vehicle on the property was unlocked, so he got in, rummaged through a purse on the front seat and fled on foot again as police closed in on him.

Tripp tried one more car before police stopped him. Another officer had arrived at the scene by then and Tripp was arrested.

Defence lawyer Fleur Oback said Tripp was sorry and had admitted his actions early.

She said background factors in his life warranted credit in sentencing, and he had been in custody since his arrest for the equivalent of nine months.

“It’s given him significant time for sober reflection,” she said.

Tripp told the court he was sorry, but was stressed at the time.

“Sorry for overtaking that vehicle. It was very foolish,” he said.

Police prosecutor Mary Hewlett said it was serious offending, conducted while Tripp was under the influence of an undetermined substance.

Judge Davidson said Tripp appeared to have limited insight into the risk posed to members of the public, including multiple road users.

From a starting point of two and a half years in prison, Tripp received 22 months, with leave to apply for home detention if he could demonstrate a “sea change in attitude”, including accepting proper treatment for substance abuse.

He received a further disqualification from driving for a year.