A New Zealand man who had been on the run from police for five weeks has hired a helicopter to pick him up in the wilderness so he could turn himself in. To the local newspaper Otago Daily Times he said he was hiding in “the middle of nowhere” near Waianakarua.
“Oh man, it was really fun. I did a lot of yoga. You can’t really tell from my body, but it was quite fun,” he said at the entrance to the Dunedin Police Station, in the south of the country. .
James Bryant, 32, was on parole, but was wanted for assault and possession of weapons, among other things. The police had warned not to approach him, because he was potentially dangerous. According to Bryant, that warning eventually led to him deciding to turn himself in.
Oysters and champagne
“I think he’s seen movies where the police come out with guns and things like that,” said former inmate Arthur Taylor, who now assists inmates. Taylor arranged with the police at Bryant’s request that he be arrested peacefully.
On the way to the police station, they drank champagne and ate oysters together. “My first good meal in weeks,” Bryant called it.
When he arrived at the police station, Bryant emphasized that he is responsible for the costs of the helicopter. “I didn’t spend taxpayers’ money on this business.”
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