Wanted man arrested after weeks on run

ARREST: Wanted man Shawn Harding was arrested yesterday. PHOTO/FILE

After four weeks of evading police, wanted man Shawn Harding was finally arrested yesterday.

While the armed offenders squad was called out yesterday morning in search of him, he was arrested in the afternoon after being spotted by an off duty police officer.

Forty-year-old Harding has warrants out for driving related offences. He has been the target of police searches since late January.

Yesterday armed police swooped on a Napier property after police recieved information that Harding was still in Hawke's Bay and staying at a Te Awa Ave house.

A warrant search was carried out but there was no sign of him, and a police spokesperson said the armed offenders squad were involved due to the threat Harding posed.

A spokesperson had earlier said he was considered "armed and dangerous".

Last night a police spokesman said a 40-year-old who had a warrant for arrest for driving-related offences, was taken into custody on McGrath St yesterday afternoon.

He was arrested after being spotted by an off-duty member of Police, who called for assistance, he said.

Harding will also be interviewed on other matters, police said. He is due to appear in Hastings District Court tomorrow.

Yesterday's search was the latest in a series carried out by police in pursuit of Harding - in late January another AOS callout was sparked when he reportedly barricaded himself in a Napier house.

The owners of the Tamatea property in question said this "destroyed" their property, forcing them to move into a motel. The owners said they had assured police no one was inside.

Yesterday Senior Sergeant Nick Dobson said there were concerns that members of the public had been assisting in keeping him out of sight.