A Rotorua man was in a deep psychotic state when he led police on a "frightening" high speed 170km pursuit, a court has heard.
Nigel Dixon, 28, was sentenced in the Rotorua District Court yesterday to three years' prison.
Dixon, of Fairy Springs, had earlier pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including dishonestly taking a Subaru, assault with a steel extendable baton in an attempt to rob Hillcrest Dairy, stealing petrol from Fairy Springs Z Energy and Whakatane Caltex service stations, entering a building on State Highway 30, Rotoiti, without authority with intent to commit a crime, operating a motor vehicle on State Highway 30 recklessly and assaulting a police officer using a vehicle as a weapon.
Those offences all occurred between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day 2013.
He also admitted two charges of assaulting a prison officer and one each of wilful damage, disorderly behaviour, resisting police, theft of a motor vehicle and failing to answer bail - all between December and April.
Judge Chris McGuire ordered Dixon serve his sentence in hospital as a special patient.
Judge McGuire said Dixon was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting a constable on December 18. He was granted bail but failed to appear in court the next day.
On December 24 Dixon stole a Subaru Legacy. The next morning, wearing a balaclava, he demanded money and cigarettes from a dairy owner and struck her around the head and neck with a 45cm (1.5ft) steel baton. He left empty-handed and later that day stole $120 petrol from Z Fairy Springs.
On Boxing Day Dixon attempted to evade police, driving towards Whakatane at speeds in excess of 160km/h, at times on the wrong side, forcing other cars off the road. On several occasions he drove directly at police cars.
In Whakatane he stole petrol from Caltex then continued back towards Lake Rotoiti, the pursuit only ending when Dixon drove off a 2m bank.
On January 28 Dixon assaulted two prison officers.
Defence lawyer Martin Hine said Dixon had been "dramatically unwell".
He said Dixon's mother had done her best to alert agencies to her son's worsening mental state.
"Sadly that either fell on deaf ears or his decline was more rapid than even she was able to determine," he said. "It was, I suspect, complicated by drug ingestion."
Dixon had told a probation officer he began smoking cannabis at the age of 5 by emptying ash trays, started rolling his own at 13, then graduated to methamphetamine and synthetic cannabis.
Judge McGuire said the offending had an overlay of mental health issues.
"I have massive sympathy for Mr Dixon's family who, like the majority of good families in this country, regrettably have to stand helpless on the sidelines while their loved one descends into deep psychosis as occurred here."
Judge McGuire told Dixon his future was bleak unless he did what doctors and his family told him.
"Each time you descend you never quite get back to the state of health you were before," he told Dixon. "It's very much on your shoulders to make sure you look after your mental health carefully and stay well away from drugs of any kind other than those prescribed to you."