Suspect rim to ground

Press, 16 July 1980, Page 13

Suspect rim to ground

PA Tauranga A suspect who took to his heels afte- failing to shake off a pursuing police car made the wrong choice.

The pursuing policeman, Constable Robert Harnor, of Mount Maunganui, had competed in the last Fletcher marathon and before starting work had- done his regular 20km training run.

Constable Harnor ran the man down in paddocks near Rocky Cutting Road, Welcome Bay, about 3.30 p.m. The chase started in Papamoa Beach Road when Constable Harnor saw a station-waggon reported t aken from Auckland earlier in the month. When he called on the driver to stop, the vehicle was driven off at speed and Constable Harnor pursued it in his patrol car for 20 minutes.

Road blocks were being set up and a police dog and handler were on their way to Welcome Bay when the man tried to escape on foot. The Tauranga police said the man would appear in the Tauranga District Court on charges relating to unlawfully taking a car, driving breaches, and possession of cannabis plants. Property, including antiques, which had been taken in burglaries in the Coromandel area, had been recovered and inquiries into this were continuing.