A fugitive who went on the run for three years after allegedly escaping police custody by climbing out of a hospital window while handcuffed and hooked up to a heart monitor has pleaded guilty.
Neil Joseph Anderson, 48, entered pleas yesterday after handing himself in to Picton police last month.
Police around New Zealand had been searching for him since February 2012, when he allegedly made a dash for freedom.
Anderson had been arrested by Christchurch police after doing a runner while on bail in Auckland, where he was wanted for stealing brass plaques from Waikumete Cemetery.
Shortly after he was arrested, he complained he was having a heart attack.