Gun theft suspect remanded

A man who allegedly rammed police cars and stole two loaded guns in Gore before going on the run has been remanded in custody, but one of the pistols is still missing.

Hori Gemmell, 24, appeared in the Invercargill District Court on Saturday, facing two charges of reckless driving, two charges of theft, two charges of unlawful possession of a pistol and one charge of unlawfully taking a motor vehicle. He appeared with bruises on his face, relating to his arrest on Friday.

He was remanded until September 10 and will appear in court by audio-visual link.

A second person arrested on Friday at a separate address has been charged and has been treated for the effects of pepper spray.

The arrests result from an incident before midnight on Wednesday when police attempted to stop a vehicle in Gore.

The driver, allegedly Gemmell, rammed a patrol car before running away on foot, pursued by police.

He then circled back around, stole the patrol vehicle, which had the keys left in it, and rammed another police car before abandoning the vehicle a short while later.

Two Glock pistols containing ammunition rounds were stolen from the weapon box in the police car using the keys.

One of them was recovered when police arrested Gemmell at a property in the Te Tipua area, in Eastern Southland, about 3pm on Friday.

Police said they were following positive lines of inquiry in their search for the missing pistol.