Police in Hamilton issued an alert yesterday morning in a bid to find Christopher Daniel Hubbard, also know as Christopher Shaw, after he breached his parole conditions.
The 32-year-old was jailed for nine years and 11 months in 2009 after he and then-partner Stacey Estelle Snelleksz embarked on a 600km crime spree, which ended in an armed stand-off with police near Palmerston.
Hubbard handed himself in to police in Palmerston North shortly after the alert and was recalled to prison.
Police would not comment on the specifics of the breach, but the public were warned not to approach Hubbard during the alert.
A police spokeswoman said Hubbard had been charged with breaching his parole conditions.
The Otago Daily Times understands an order to recall him to prison was issued on Monday.
Hubbard was granted parole in February, almost three years short of his statutory release date of January 3, 2019, and was assessed as having a 70% chance of reoffending.
He was classified as a "high-risk offender'' and was one of the first participants in a new programme to reintegrate male offenders back into society.
He was subject to strict conditions, including a ban on alcohol and illicit drugs, a daily curfew of 10pm to 6am, a firearms ban and an order not to contact or associate with Snelleksz.
The New Zealand Parole Board's decision revealed Hubbard had served two previous jail terms and had more than 120 convictions.
A hearing to assess Shaw's compliance with his parole conditions had been planned for next month until he breached his conditions.
Hubbard had only just been released from prison when he embarked on the crime spree with Snelleksz in 2009.
The pair fled the North Island after learning Snelleksz's two children might be removed by Child, Youth and Family and stole goods worth up to $45,000, resulting in the pair facing more than 100 charges.
During their three-day run from police, the pair stole a Land Rover, commited nutmerous burglaries and thefts, evaded police in a high-speed pursuit and Shaw shot at police with a stolen .22 rifle.
Snelleksz, who was driving, crashed the vehicle into a tree.
During a depositions hearing, police told the Oamaru District Court they believed Shaw used one of Snelleksz's children, who accompanied the pair on their flight, as a "human shield'' while brandishing the rifle at police.
The pair surrendered after being surrounded by armed offenders squad members more than two hours after the crash and after fleeing police.
In discussing Hubbard's parole, the board conceded he was a high-risk offender but had "participated diligently in the rehabilitation and reintegration activities and there is evidence from a number of sources that he has undergone a process of significant change over the last seven years''.
"Having regard to that progress, we have, by a majority, determined that the proposal before us is sufficient to manage his risk to the safety of the community for the balance of his sentence,'' the board's decision said.
His release location was not disclosed in the board's decision, but it is understood he was banned from living in any areas where he offended and is to reside in the upper North Island.
Snelleksz is understood to have been released in 2010.
