KEY POINTS:
A plasterer who locked a Blenheim policeman in the cells as he escaped custody has been jailed for seven years.
Mark Hulme, a 24-year-old from West Auckland, previously admitted 31 charges including unlawfully detaining a police officer and escaping custody. He was sentenced in the Nelson District Court yesterday.
Hulme also faced charges relating to the ram-raid of Richmond's Unichem pharmacy in April which targeted drugs used in manufacturing P, and reckless driving charges after a high-speed police chase on April 25.
At an earlier appearance, the court was told Hulme smashed a plastic cell window covering while in custody in Blenheim, but he was unable to get through a reinforced-glass window.
He later held a plastic shard to a police watch-house keeper's throat, slightly cutting him. He then locked the policeman in the cell and walked out through the station's reception area.
The detained police officer called the station's reception on his cellphone and a search began for Hulme.
Meanwhile, Hulme went to The Warehouse store, stole a pair of scissors and pliers and tried to break into a truck. Police chased him and caught him.
- NZPA
