A man has been arrested after a string of alleged burglaries led to three crashes involving two stolen vehicles in Auckland’s Pakuranga this morning.
Police allege the 44-year-old is responsible for seven reported burglaries and three crashes involving two stolen vehicles between around 5.10am and 5.50am today, Inspector Danny Meade said.
Police were first notified of an unknown man entering a property on Udys Rd at 5.10am, during which a physical confrontation took place. No one was injured in the incident. The man then fled on foot.
Minutes later, Meade said police received two further reports from residents on Udys Rd – one reporting a man trying to force entry to her home, and a second reporting their front door being smashed.
Just after 5.30am, residents of a Pakuranga Rd property called police to report an unknown man had forced entry into their house armed with a knife. There were no injuries reported.
The man then left the scene.
At 5.40am, police were alerted to an incident on Grammar School Rd. The caller reported seeing a person run off towards their neighbour’s house around 10 minutes earlier.
A Police dog unit in the area came across the man on a separate Grammar School Rd property.
Minutes later, police received another call from someone reporting the man had kicked the front door to their house and was smashing items inside.
The man then allegedly stole the person’s car keys and drove off in their vehicle, “crashing through a gate and onto Pakuranga Rd, then onto Udys Rd”, Meade said.
He then allegedly stole another vehicle from a property on Reeves Rd, which police pursued “for a short time” before it crashed at the intersection of Ti Rakau Dr and Tiraumea Dr, causing “significant damage” to a fence.
The man ran off on foot, before being arrested a short time later.
He will appear in court at a later date.
‘A bit of carnage’
A resident told 1News the man was seen approaching multiple houses before forcing his way into one.
“They went to another house where they kicked the door in. I don’t know what happened inside, but they managed to get the keys to the car and then took off at fast speed in the car and went through the security gates,” he said.
“They’ve just smashed them open and drove off, let a bit of carnage around.”
He said part of the reason people live there is for the security and safety of a gated community.
“Everyone just feels safe here,” he said.
“But when an incident like this happens, if someone’s got a will, they’ve got a way, and they’ll still get through somehow.”
