But he refused to stop for a siren and flashing lights, so more police were called to set up road spikes, which Creeks ran over at the intersection of Wairau and Corks Roads.
He continued to speed up to 100km/h in a 50km/h area.
Police lost sight of him until he was spotted driving at high speed through a red light at the Kamo and Station Roads intersection, where other vehicles had to take evasive actions to avoid being hit.
Again under pursuit, Creeks headed off a patrol car speeding at about 80km/h, driving in the middle of the carriageway on Three Mile Bush Road.
But his front tyres finally gave out after earlier being spiked and Creeks was forced to stop. He was arrested without incident and told police about a knife in the car.
He was subsequently charged with three counts of failing to stop, two counts of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified for a third or subsequent time – his 8th - driving while impaired by drugs, and possessing the knife.
Sentencing him in Whangārei District Court to 12 months in jail, Judge Philip Rzepecky said it was "blatant and wilful" offending and reflected Creeks' comment he "lived in the moment".
At the heart of Creeks' offending was his use of meth. It was evident from his "bizarre" behaviour, especially when he put his hand out his window and signalled for police to pass during the second incident.
Creeks had no regard for public safety or for court orders, the judge said.
In addition to being sentenced for the two Whangārei incidents, Creeks was also up for resentencing on a raft of offences in Kaikohe for which he had previously been sentenced to community work and supervision – possession of meth, three counts of using a bank card for pecuniary advantage, possession of a meth pipe, possession of a knife in public, and two breaches of bail.
Creeks had failed entirely to comply with that previous sentence so the court had no option now but to jail him, the judge said.
The probation service said Creeks was at a high risk of reoffending and posed a moderate risk of harm to others and property. His attitude towards authority and substance abuse, which he was yet to address, contributed to his offending.
But it was noted he was now motivated to try to change his ways, especially for the sake of his children.
The judge said the lead offence was driving while disqualified, for which he imposed a starting point of 10 months imprisonment. He uplifted it by four months for the charges of driving impaired, dangerous driving, and possession of a knife.
There was a further three months uplift for the charges to be resentenced.
Creeks had relevant previous similar convictions, but there would be no uplift for them as they were taken into account by the nature of the recent charges.
There was a fully 25 per cent discount for Creeks' guilty pleas.
He will be subject to six months release conditions, including assessment, counselling, and treatment for substance abuse and anger management, and a ban on him using alcohol and illicit drugs.
Working out the relevant disqualifications was complicated because so many applied and he was already subject to one until next year. Ultimately, he was disqualified for another two years on top of that, and indefinitely disqualified thereafter until he can get his licence back.
Judge Rzepecky told Creeks, "It's a lot to deal with for you but by no means a situation that you can't do something about if you want to."
