Please attribute to Sergeant Tony Woodbridge:
A 32-year-old Palmerston North man has been arrested following a fleeing driver incident on Wednesday.
The man was driving a stolen vehicle on the Waianakarua-Kakanui Road when he was signalled to pull over by Police about 20 minutes south of Oamaru.
The vehicle failed to stop and instead continued towards Kakanui township.
Staff deployed spikes on the Maheno-Kakanui Road in an attempt to stop the vehicle, but the driver avoided these and continued driving. It was successfully spiked further down the road, and eventually came to a stop in the Kakanui township.
The man attempted to decamp on foot, but was arrested shortly after at a property in Kakanui, with the assistance of a Police dog and the Dunedin Armed Offenders Squad.
Staff located an imitation firearm, a sawn-off shotgun, ammunition, drugs and knives in the stolen vehicle.
The vehicle is understood to have been stolen in Oamaru on Tuesday.
The man is also believed to be responsible for another motor vehicle theft in Oamaru on Thursday, 19 May, and Police had two outstanding warrants for his arrest.
He is due to appear in the Timaru District Court on Thursday on a variety of charges including unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of a firearm, and failing to stop.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre