A man known as Houdini for his numerous disappearing acts, including a 2008 escape from Mt Eden Prison, has been recaptured after more than four months on the run.
Aaron Stephen Forden, 30, was arrested in the Auckland suburb of Ponsonby on Rugby World Cup opening night after breaking out of Whangarei District Court on June 2 by removing a bar from a secure interview room.
He appeared in Auckland District Court this morning where he pleaded guilty to unlawfully interfering with a motor vehicle, possession of cannabis and refusing to give his identity to police.
He will be sentenced in Whangarei District Court next month.
In 2008 Forden escaped from Mt Eden Prison by crawling through roof cavities to a tower, using a rope made of knotted-together sheets to lower himself over the barbed wire to freedom.
