Teen’s crime wave

A youth described by police as a teen crime wave has been arrested after a wave of offences across Auckland while on bail.

The 17 year old was arrested following a pursuit where he allegedly drove down the wrong side of the motorway to escape in the early hours of March 19.

Two girls, aged 14 and 15, who were in the stolen vehicle have been referred to Youth Aid.

Police put out a call to the public to find the teenager who was on bail for a raft of offences, after he failed to appear at the Counties Manukau District Court.

While evading police, he is suspected to have stolen a number of cars on Auckland’s Hibiscus Coast.

At around 1.30am a member of the public spotted a man looking into cars in Takanini and called the police, Inspector Bruce O’Brien said.

When police arrived the man fled in a stolen car. Police abandoned pursuit when the car was driven down the wrong side of the motorway and the Eagle helicopter monitored the vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle then tried to steal a second car in Karaka while the Eagle watched overhead, but then continued in the original stolen vehicle, O’Brien said, which had its wheels spiked by police in Waiuku.

‘‘The driver has carried on driving the vehicle with deflated tires, and then on its rims, until it became immobile in Pukekohe,’’ O’Brien said.

The driver then fled across properties trying to evade police, but was caught a short time later. He was taken to Papakura Police Station where he then damaged a number of windows.

On top of the charges he already faced, the teen faces additional charges including unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, attempted unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, dangerous driving, failing to stop for police and wilful damage, O’Brien said.