KEY POINTS:
A paroled prisoner suspected of holding a family at gunpoint during an armed home invasion is still on the run, it emerged last night.
The case has come to light after the capture of convicted murderer Graeme Burton, who had been on the run since December when he breached his parole.
Burton allegedly committed a number of crimes while on the run, including fatally shooting Wainuiomata man Karl Kuchenbecker on Saturday.
In the latest case, Neil Kevin Paul allegedly dressed up as a police officer during a violent East Auckland home invasion by three men last year.
He had only just been released on parole after serving time for a number of aggravated robberies.
Paul was four years through a six-year sentence when he was released on home detention in February last year and then on parole in May.
By September police believe the 28-year-old was one of three men involved in a gunpoint home invasion, kidnapping and aggravated robbery which left one person with superficial injuries.
Yesterday the Herald learned that Paul had been on parole for only four months when he breached the conditions by going on the run.
Police say the 28-year-old vanished the day after an Asian family were held at gunpoint in their Pakuranga home on Sunday, September 10, 2006.
All attempts to find him and another suspect in the home invasion, 20-year-old Floyd Te Tai, have been fruitless.
Police believe the men are being hidden by friends or family.
Like Burton, police say Paul had access to weapons and firearms after his release from prison and there are concerns he will not hesitate to use them again.
It is also believed Paul and Te Tai are involved in the methamphetamine scene and have connections with the Headhunters gang.
Investigation
Detective Sergeant Karyn Malthus, who is heading the home invasion investigation, said a warrant had been issued for Paul and Te Tai's arrest and she urged the public to call police rather than approach the men.
"They have shown a propensity for using weapons before," she said.
Ms Malthus said there was no telling what they had been up to while on the run, but there was a concern that "people wanted in connection with this type of offending will involve themselves in similar offending".
Ms Malthus said she was unsure how they would react if confronted, given their actions during the home invasion.
"They pretended to be police officers and firearms were pointed at police. My biggest fears would be for the people they decide to offend against and the attending police, if they were to commit further crime."
Paul was jailed in August 2002 after pleading guilty with his older brother to committing four aggravated robberies during which dairy and service station staff were punched in the face, threatened with knives and kicked in the head while on the ground.
Police Association vice-president Detective Sergeant Richard Middleton said it was very common for people to reoffend once they were released from prison - either on parole or at the end of their sentence - and that was frustrating for police.
"We see the prison release names come in and we think, 'Right, that's going to hurt us because those two people are bad burglars and our burglary rate is going to go up.' Then we catch them again and they go inside again and they serve their sentences and get out. It's just a cycle that doesn't stop."
National Party justice and corrections spokesman Simon Power said that with the recent spotlight on parole, Paul's case should be "ringing loud in the Government's ear".
* Anyone with information about Paul or Te Tai is asked to contact police on 09 272 0915 or 027 6712370.
