Ex-reality TV star faces 6 new charges over police chase
Man keeps name suppression as officer recovers in hospital
Police have filed six new charges against a former reality television star arrested this month after a pursuit during which an officer on foot was hit while deploying spikes, resulting in serious injuries.
The 37-year-old defendant, who continues to have interim name suppression, appeared in the Manukau District Court yesterday for the first time via an audio-visual link.
He was arrested on the evening of November 9, after a pursuit that began when police spotted what they thought to be a stolen car.
The vehicle is alleged to have hit an officer who was on foot about 30 minutes later as the officer attempted to stop the car by laying road spikes on the corner of Manukau Station Rd and Osterley Way.
The officer was taken to hospital in a critical condition, police said at the time.
The injured officer remains in hospital but is stable and recovering, police told the Herald yesterday.
Traffic chaos unfolded immediately after the officer was injured as a large police response that included the Eagle helicopter was triggered.
The pursuit lasted about 21km as the vehicle made its way north to the city centre, with the vehicle being found under Grafton Rd near Auckland Domain.
Police said the suspect was found a short distance away on Khyber Pass Rd.
At the Manukau District Court the next day, the case was called but the defendant did not appear because he too was in hospital.
Interim name suppression was granted until his next appearance so he could tell his family about the charges.
The court was also told he suffered from severe drug and alcohol addiction issues.
During yesterday’s court appearance, the man pleaded not guilty through defence lawyer Amy Jordan to the three charges he was already facing — wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, unlawfully taking a vehicle and failing to stop and ascertain injury — in addition to the six new charges, all relating to the same alleged incident.
The new charges include allegations of unlawfully being in a citycentre parking garage with intent to commit an offence, failure to stop for red and blue flashing lights while exceeding the speed limit, burglary and wilful damage of a Khyber Pass Rd business, possession of five syringes for methamphetamine use and reckless driving, which police said involved driving on the wrong side of State Highway 1.
Jordan asked Judge Gus Andree Wiltens for interim name suppression to remain in place until her client’s next appearance next year in light of the new charges against him and the possibility that his name being revealed might cause extreme hardship to him and his family.
Prosecutors did not oppose the continuation of name suppression for the defendant and also asked that details involving the injured officer be kept secret for the time being. The judge agreed. Suppression issues are expected to be revisited at the defendant’s next appearance on the charges in April.
The officer was taken to hospital in a critical condition, police said at the time.