A man arrested over a spate of home invasions targeting elderly women has appeared in the Auckland District Court.
A warrant to arrest William John Murphy, 36, was issued on Sunday after police said was a "key person of interest" in their investigation into the series of robberies involving elderly women in their homes.
Murphy has been charged over one incident involving a 79-year-old woman in Westmere, but the police investigation is ongoing and further charges have not been ruled out.
So far he is charged with detaining the 79-year-old without her consent and taking her credit card with intent to obtain pecuniary advantage. He is also facing an unrelated charge of unlawfully taking a motor vehicle.
Murphy has strong Northland links and police believe he was heading north at the time of his arrest on Monday.