Men in separate Northland police pursuits appear in court

The police four-wheel-drive after it was rammed during an attempt to stop a fleeing driver on Inland Road.

Two men involved in separate police pursuits on the same day in Northland have been remanded in custody after appearing in court.

A 45-year-old man, from Kenana near Mangonui, who police claim was the driver of a Toyota Hilux ute that damaged three vehicles when officers tried to stop it on the Karikari Peninsula on Thursday afternoon, was remanded in custody.

Bail was opposed by the police, and no application was made, when Murray Andrew Thomas made a very brief appearance before the Kaitaia JP Court yesterday.

Thomas, whose heavily tattooed body was naked from the waist up, was remanded until February 7 without plea on charges of reckless driving causing injury, failing to ascertain injury, failing to stop, possession of a cannabis utensil, possession of an offensive weapon, a knife, and two of assault with a weapon, his vehicle.

Police allege Thomas was the driver of a ute that twice rammed a car on the bridge on Inland Rd, metres from the State Highway 10 intersection, in an attempt to get across the bridge, where police had laid spikes during a pursuit.

He is also accused of backing into a police 4WD, whose driver suffered a minor elbow injury and was treated at the scene.

Meanwhile, in Whangarei District Court yesterday 25-year-old Deacon Patrick Eru Harris was remanded in custody until February 5 when he would appear on charges of failing to stop and dangerous driving on Thursday.

It's alleged an officer signalled for Harris to stop on Walton St about 12.26pm but instead he drove through streets around Whangarei before heading down Raumanga Valley Rd where he was eventually stopped by police.

Harris also faces three charges of male assaults female, threatening to kill and unlawfully detaining a woman, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 14 years' jail.

The charges arise out of an incident on January 1 this year in Auckland.