Accused in hospital with bites misses court

Hutton is under police guard in a Waikato Hospital ward and is to appear in court next month. Photo / Thinkstock

A man facing several charges including kidnap and assault with a pocket knife was yesterday still recovering from his wounds and too ill to go to his court appearance after being mauled by police dogs during his arrest last week.

Mark William Hutton, 42, was to have appeared in Hamilton District Court yesterday to face a number of charges.

But a court registrar said Hutton was still in hospital and had been remanded to reappear via an audiovisual link next month.

The Herald understands Hutton is under police guard in a Waikato Hospital ward, where he has moderate to severe dogbite wounds sustained when the armed offenders squad forced him out of a Beerescourt house after last Wednesday's standoff with police.

Hutton has been charged over the incident that started the day before. The charges involve using a sawn-off shotgun in committing a crime, and unlawfully detaining a woman without her consent.

He was also to have faced a charge of male assaults female against the same woman some time between August 23 and 25, and another of assault using a pocket knife, also against the same woman.

The drama unfolded when a friend of the woman arrived at a Frankton address, where Hutton is alleged to have held the woman against her will.

The distressed woman contacted police, who went to the Beerescourt house looking for Hutton and cordoned off the street before trying to coax him out using loudhailers.

Hutton, whose parents were waiting outside the police cordon, kept police at bay for about 45 minutes before they fired teargas into the McDiarmid Rd property.

Police with dogs eventually forced their way into the basement where Hutton was hiding.

Detective Senior Sergeant Nigel Keall said a subsequent police search of the property revealed a methamphetamine laboratory and a firearm. A further search of a Frankton business linked to the man revealed another lab, chemicals and two guns, he said.