Mark Creighton, 48, sentenced over carjacking and being accessory before attempted car theft at Maitland

A man screamed at his son to stop one attempted carjacking before pulling a disabled woman away from a reversing car during a second. His good deeds ended there, as he jumped into the stolen car and drove off.

Two women were targeted in a carjacking near Maitland pool on September 12, 2023. Picture: Google Maps

Parolee and father-of-six Mark Creighton will have until at least Christmas Eve to mull over the reasons why a visit to community corrections ended with him and his son in custody over one carjacking and an attempt at another.

Creighton, 48, was wandering back to Maitland railway station with his son, Jackson, in September last year when the younger man decided to jump into a car, which was idling with its female driver nearby, and attempted to drive off.

“Get out,” Creighton senior yelled at his son as the woman and relatives bashed on car windows, according an agreed statement of facts.

“Come here, you f--k.”

The attempted carjacking was thwarted as another family member of the female victim – as well as a random cab driver who saw the events unfold – boxed 25-year-old Jackson in.

A woman and her carer were pulled away as a modified car was reversed by Jackson Creighton, before being driven off by Mark Creighton. Picture: Google Maps

The younger Creighton ran off with dad in tow and a relative of the victim in pursuit.

Minutes later, the pair were in the nearby car park of the town’s public pool as a woman with disabilities and her carer were packing their modified car up after a session in the water.

Mark Creighton was sentenced in Newcastle District Court on Wednesday. His son, Jackson, will learn his fate in August.

Creighton junior again jumped in the driver’s seat, while Mark stood at the back of the car with the women and again yelled at his son.

As Jackson reversed, his father pulled the woman with disabilities clear.

The woman, who suffered from a condition where she could not walk unassisted, would later tell a court that both her and her carer would have been run over if not for Mark Creighton’s actions.

But as they lay shocked on the car park asphalt, Mark ran after the car. He jumped into the driver’s seat as his son got in the back and the pair sped off.

For his actions, Mark Creighton pleaded guilty to one count of taking and driving a conveyance without the consent of its owner and one count of accessory before the fact to an attempted taking and driving a conveyance without the consent of its owner.

For the carjacking and accessory charges, Mark Creighton was sentenced in Newcastle District Court on Wednesday to a maximum jail term of two years and three months.

With a non-parole period of 15 months, and some time already served along with his parole, he will not be eligible for release until Christmas Eve.

In sentencing Mark Creighton, acting Judge Anthony Blackmore SC said the crimes were “abhorrent” but took into account the facts surrounding the father’s actions.

Judge Blackmore partially read a letter from Creighton’s wife, which said the convicted criminal’s future had appeared better than in the past.

He remained off drugs, had got his licence, bought a car and become a good, family man.

Jackson Creighton is set to be sentenced in August.