Guilty pleas on 45 charges after 100 days on the run from police

His cat and mouse game with police made him a folk hero in the eyes of some, but those affected by William Alexander Stewart's crime spree are pleased to see the "low-life" finally held to account.

Stewart, who became known as "Billy the Hunted One", spent more than 100 days on the run in rural Canterbury, camping out, stealing food and taunting police with messages as they tried to track him down.

His antics garnered him international headlines and made him a Facebook favourite, while he was the subject of a song by a Timaru man, and an Ashburton property developer sold "Where's Billy" T-shirts on Trade Me.

Yesterday, in the Christchurch District Court, Stewart pleaded guilty to 45 charges having clocked up damage and stolen property worth $397,288.

Stewart wanted to make an apology in court yesterday, but Judge David Holderness said he would have to wait until his sentencing in February.

Michael Morrow, president of Mid-Canterbury Federated Farmers, had his own encounter with Stewart on a dead-end road on his farm.

"We had Armed Offenders Squad guys at the end of the road. So we were privy to the time wasting, and the money and the police resources he soaked up," Mr Morrow said. "The fact that he was potentially carrying firearms, [police] had to respond. But at the end of day, he was revealed for what he is: a pretty low-life petty criminal, who I think enjoyed living off the notoriety that he generated.

Canterbury Pharmacy Guild branch president Mark Webster said people like Stewart were a "menace to the community, and should be treated as such".

- NZPA