A Far North 17-year-old charged with taking a car and smashing down a series of cycle trail gates on Monday was on bail at the time for an alleged assault on a girl a few days earlier.
Eric Shaw, of Whirinaki, appeared in the Kaikohe District Court on Tuesday charged with wilful damage and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle.
Police say they caught him after a short foot chase behind the old timber mill in Moerewa on Monday after he had driven down the Twin Coast Cycle Trail from Lucas Rd, bowling three reinforced gates on the way. A 14-year-old girl with him at the time was referred to Youth Aid.
Shaw was again granted bail and is due back in court on July 7. The car, a Nissan Cefiro, was taken from Whirinaki on Sunday night.
Court documents reveal Shaw was already on bail after allegedly assaulting a 14-year-old girl on a roadside in Moerewa on Friday afternoon.