An Auckland-based prisoner accused of escaping Corrections custody for more than two months has pleaded not guilty to two separate charges of illegally possessing a firearm and explosives.<\/p>\n
Te Ariki Poulgrain, 23, allegedly fled from a medical facility in Grafton on June 30 while he was an inmate at Auckland Prison, also know as Paremoremo.<\/p>\n
CCTV footage captured him on nearby Park Rd still handcuffed the same day he escaped.<\/p>\n
Police then launched area inquiries, reviewing CCTV footage and using the Police Eagle Helicopter.<\/p>\n
After almost two and a half months he was arrested at a property in \u014ctara on September 11.<\/p>\n
In addition to the escape charge, he faced charges of illegally possessing a 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun and possession of explosives – reference to the 10 shotgun shells and 25 9mm firearm rounds police said they confiscated.<\/p>\n
Poulgrain appeared via audio-visual link in Auckland District Court under alert level 3 restrictions this afternoon, and pleaded not guilty to those charges through his lawyer Anoushka Bloem.<\/p>\n
In regards to the charge of escaping custody, Judge Allison Sinclair said the plea would “trail the other two” at Poulgrain’s next appearance, a case review hearing, on November 22.<\/p>\n
He was previously described by police as dangerous, with links to the Killer Beez gang.<\/p>\n