Fugitive arrested after four months on run

File photo / Bay of Plenty Times

A man accused of an aggravated robbery in Waikato, who has been on the run since June, was arrested this morning by the Armed Offenders Squad using tear gas in Gisborne.

Police said they found Allan Taare Gray hiding under a house.

Gray was arrested on June 15 and charged with the aggravated robbery of a bank in Kihikihi, 4km south of Te Awamutu, but escaped from Gisborne District Court on June 21.

Earlier this month, police in the Waikato and Gisborne called for sightings of Gray, who they described as a man who should not be approached.

"This is an extremely dangerous criminal -- I am very glad he has been apprehended," Gisborne area commander Inspector Sam Aberahama said today.

A woman who lives with her daughter nearby said she woke to the sight of police cars, policemen and dogs, and the AOS squad in the street opposite her house.

Around 7.50am, she heard what she thought were gunshots and ran to the room where her daughter was sleeping.

"It was really freaky. Something was going down but we could not see.

"The worst thing was not being allowed out of our houses here and nobody told us what was going on."

She saw Gray escorted out of the house, limping, to a waiting ambulance.

Mr Aberahama said Gray was not injured during his capture and was taken to an ambulance because of the effects of the tear gas.

- NZPA