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Maarten Holl / Things
Matthew Kidman photographed in 2010 at a ruling in Wellington District Court.
A man who left the courtroom interviewing room while in custody, fled police in a golf cart, and whose bail decision prompted public criticism from Judith Collins against a judge, is again evading police.
On Monday, Wellington police said they were looking for Matthew Kidman, 40, who has multiple arrest warrants.
Kidman, who has strong ties to Wellington, is considered dangerous and should not be approached.
Known as a ‘serial fugitive’, Kidman has a colorful history of evading the police and the justice system, dating back at least 19 years.
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He has at least 70 prior convictions, including for the crimes of aggravated robbery, firearms, drugs and violence.
He is convicted of attempting to escape in 2001 and in 2004, while serving a six-year sentence for aggravated robbery, he walked away from the Hawke’s Bay prison carpentry shop.
He once struck a prison guard during another failed escape attempt.
In 2005, he was one of five prisoners awarded $ 8000 compensation in a court action for being illegally detained under the “behavior management regime” for difficult prisoners at Auckland Prison in Paremoremo.
In 2008, he sparked a two-day manhunt after bail was breached on firearms charges and fled police in a Silverstream Golf Park golf cart and then a car in Whiteman’s Valley.
Fast forward to March 2012, Kidman escaped a police checkpoint in Stokes Valley, where knives and a hammer were found in his abandoned car.
Five months later, Kidman made headlines again after he escaped from custody by kicking Perspex glass in an interview room at Lower Hutt court and then waiting in a secure area until a staff member unknowingly pulled him out.
Phil Reid / Stuff
Armed police were searching for Matthew Kidman on the banks of the Hutt River in 2008 after he broke bail on firearms charges and fled police in a golf cart.
He was captured in downtown Wellington later that night and was sentenced to five months in prison.
In 2013, Kidman fled police in a stolen car, sparking a high-speed chase, in the Wellington suburb of Wainuiomata, before ditching the car and running into the bush.
He was captured four days later in the Lower Hutt suburb of Epuni.
Kidman admitted to attempting to escape from Rimutaka Prison in 2015, attempting to trick staff into allowing him to pass through a secure door.
Phil Reid / Stuff
A helicopter and armed police searched for the fugitive serially in 2008 after bail was skipped.
In 2016, Kidman began a five-day search after disposing of his electronically monitored bail bracelet.
After the capture, Corrections and Police Minister at the time, Judith Collins, said Kidman should not have been granted bail, criticizing the judge who made the decision and stating that it was “the wrong decision.”
He said the Department of Corrections supported his opinion and recommended not granting him bail.
Phil Reid / Stuff
Matthew Kidman, who has caused many persecutions in the last 19 years, is on the run again.
Collins was criticized for criticizing the judge’s decision, but defended her comments, which were backed by the Law Society.
He rejected claims that he violated the rules of the Cabinet Manual.
