Alleged gunman Jake Dohnt arrested outside Port Wakefield
THIS is the moment alleged gunman Jake Dohnt was arrested in South Australia, but it was not without incident.
FUGITIVE alleged gunman Jake Dohnt was arrested at gunpoint last night after a dramatic chase involving a huge police convoy ended in a car crash, a witness said.
Dohnt, 25, who had been on the run since Monday, allegedly armed with a handgun, was taken into custody just north of Port Wakefield.
Police said they had received information that he was travelling in a grey Holden sedan, which officers spotted travelling north on Port Wakefield Rd, St Kilda about 4pm.
Witnesses said the police helicopter and up to a d
The police helicopter, Pol Air, was called in to assist and police stopped traffic in both directions north and south of Port Wakefield.
The vehicle was successfully spiked twice, however the car continued north through Port Wakefield.
About 5.35pm, the car collided with a member of the public’s vehicle about two kilometres north of the intersection of Port Augusta Highway and Copper Coast Highway.
The member of the public sustained minor injuries.
The suspect ran from the scene of the crash and was chased on foot by patrols into a nearby paddock.
The 25-year-old man was subsequently arrested at gunpoint.
Neither the suspect nor any police officers were injured during this incident.
The arrested man has been taken to Kadina for questioning and is expected to face the Port Pirie Magistrates Court tomorrow.
Earlier this afternoon, police recovered a firearm in the rear yard of a Wallaroo residence. It has been seized for forensic examination.
Investigations are continuing.
who hadf
.
Police last night confirmed the 25-year-old had been taken into custody after two cars crashed as officers swooped. The area was cordoned off last night as police investigated.
Allegedly armed with a handgun, Dohnt forced the small Copper Coast township into lockdown as specialist police swarmed the streets hunting him down for almost 28 hours.
Joe Headlam witnessed the dramatic arrest, saying he saw a car – believed to be carrying Dohnt – “doing about 160km/h on three tyres”.
“The front left (tyre) was blown. The noise of the tyre on the road, it sounded like a jet going past.” he said.
Mr Headlam said the police helicopter appeared to be following the car from above and about 12 police cars, including an armoured bearcat, were giving chase.
He said he thought the driver would crash.
“Luckily there wasn’t much traffic at the time,” he said.
Police had previously described Dohnt as “armed and dangerous”.
The handgun suspected of being the same weapon Dohnt allegedly pointed at police before they fired shots was found in a Wallaroo backyard about midday yesterday.
Owners of the home – which is just one street from where the shooting occurred – said Dohnt tried to hide in their lounge room to escape police.
“He jumped the fence, dropped the weapon and come around (the front) and went straight in the lounge room,” resident Mark O’Brien said.
“The old guy that lives next door told him to (go away) and he did.
“I walked outside specifically looking to see whether he dropped a weapon because he jumped (the back) fence.
“I didn’t touch it, I just left it there.”
Police collected the evidence yesterday afternoon.
The manhunt crossed over two days after a section of the town was declared a dangerous area and residents were warned to stay indoors from about 2pm on Monday.
The lockdown area was shifted to another part of the town, before the declaration ended after 12 hours.
Police then moved its base of operations to Kadina. Only a small section of Daly St, where officers fired a shot at Dohnt after he allegedly levelled his firearm at them, was last night still closed.
It was been declared a crime scene and was being investigated by a forensics team.
A heavy police presence, including STAR Group officers, Dog Operations Unit and the armoured Bearcat vehicle, have moved from property to property in their search of Dohnt.
The hunt was sparked after police tried to pull Dohnt over on the Spencer Hwy about 1am on Monday.
But instead, he led police on a pursuit.
His car was found abandoned in Wallaroo before he allegedly pointed his handgun at police, forcing an officer to fire a single shot in his direction. He fled on foot and had been hunted by police ever since.
Operations Inspector for the Yorke and Mid North Allison Clark yesterday said officers have been trying to contact Dohnt on his mobile phone but have so far been unsuccessful.
Police believe Dohnt had help to escape Wallaroo but no other arrests have been made so far.
During the manhunt, locals were warned not to approach Dohnt.
On Monday night, residents were either not allowed to return to their homes or were told to stay inside and lock all their doors and windows.