Two men in the grips of a meth addiction led police on a high-speed pursuit after stealing cars, a caravan and threatening an elderly man at knife-point and destroying his car with a Molotov cocktail. The “meth-addled” spree by Daniel Lance Nightingale, 36, and Braden Prujean, only came to an end thanks to the police Eagle helicopter, which tracked the pair, along with an unidentified woman, from Coromandel town to Tapu, where the stolen car was dumped and set fire to. This week, the pair appeared in the Hamilton District Court, where Judge Philip Crayton sentenced them both to prison. Reversed into a patrol car Nightingale was serving a home detention sentence when, on July 24, 2024, he stole a $20,000 Mazda ute from a commercial property in Whitianga. The ute was fitted with GPS, and a finance company tracked it to a Kaimarama Rd property. It had been painted with white house paint, and the wheels had been changed, but Nightingale’s fingerprint was found on a broken broom that was in the boot. The next day, he was spotted by police walking out of Whitianga Four Square, and as officers went to approach him, he got into a black Holden. He “aggressively” sped off, driving around 100km/h in a 50km/h zone. On December 22, 2024, he was seen again by police who tried to apprehend him by using their vehicle to block his. This time, Nightingale reversed at speed backwards, smashing into the front of the patrol car. He sped off, again driving in excess of 100km/h in a 50km/h zone. Four days later, he was spotted again, this time parked in his car under some trees on Harsant Ave, Hahei. Nightingale sped off onto the beach before driving back to Harsant Ave. As there were pedestrians around, police opted not to pursue him. Swerving, scraping, and speeding On November 14, Nightingale and Prujean stole a Toyota Hilux from the Kaitarakihi Walking Track near Thames. Four days later, they backed the ute up to a $20,000 caravan parked on a Matangi property and drove to Whitianga. However, due to Nightingale’s driving, police received several phone calls, and a patrol car caught up with them at road works on the Whangapoua Hill. He sped off, travelling at such speed that the caravan swayed back and forth, as he went through Whitianga and south to 309 Rd, which he turned onto. Nightingale then turned onto a smaller gravel road. Police lost sight of them briefly before the vehicle reappeared out of a side road, but without the caravan, and heading towards Coromandel town. The car swerved into the patrol car, scraping it, as Nightingale sped past. Daniel Nightingale and Braden Prujean dumped their vehicle just off Tapu-Coroglen Rd, pictured, before Prujean set it on fire. Image / Google maps He drove at excessive speeds, cutting corners, and when entering Coromandel town, accelerated heavily and continued cutting into the path of oncoming traffic. Prujean, meanwhile, sat in the front passenger seat, and an unidentified woman sat in the back. Police eventually managed to spike the vehicle’s tyres, and the pair dumped it on Flays Rd, before fleeing on foot. Nightingale approached a home owner, went into his kitchen, and grabbed a butcher’s knife, before waving it around, threateningly, demanding his car keys. He fled with the keys as Prujean and the female waited outside before they all left in the victim’s Rav 4. By this time, the police Eagle had been called, and was monitoring the Rav from the air, watching it as Nightingale drove it at speed back through Coromandel town, at times exceeding 150km/h. He made it all the way down to Tapu and turned onto Tapu-Coroglen Rd. It was there they dumped the Rav, and Prujean threw a Molotov cocktail inside, setting it on fire and reducing it to a burnt-out shell. Despite “extensive efforts” by police who searched the bush, none of them were found. ‘It’s a miracle he hasn’t killed somebody’ In court, Judge Crayton said Nightingale’s aggravated burglary was the most serious as it involved a confronta...