Wanted escapee Lachlan Mitchell, 20, has been arrested at Hackham West.
WANTED Victorian escapee Lachlan Mitchell — who allegedly stole a ute from a man at gunpoint in Mt Gambier — has been arrested in Adelaide’s south overnight.
Police arrested Mitchell and another man, a 25-year-old from Victoria who is alleged to have helped Mitchell avoid apprehension, about 12.30am.
Police said both men were arrested without incident.
“The investigation into an aggravated robbery at Mount Gambier on Thursday, where a man had his car stolen at gunpoint, is still continuing,” a police spokeswoman said.
Mitchell allegedly escaped from the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre by walking out the front door into a waiting black Holden ute, which was chased by police through Ballarat, Avoca and Maryborough on Wednesday.
He then allegedly stole a grey Nissan Navara dual-cab ute after threatening the owner with a gun after a crash at Mil Lel, on the outskirts of Mt Gambier.
Police had warned the public not to approach Mitchell, 20, who they described as “seriously dangerous”.
Neighbours of the Leiden Court unit where the two men were arrested said police swarmed the area for at least two hours after midnight on Saturday.
One woman, who asked not to be identified, said she heard a woman wailing and screaming about 1am and went outside to investigate.
“The whole street was filled with police cars and there was a lot of police,” she said.
“There was a woman crying... she wasn’t quiet, she was screaming ‘oh no, blah, blah, blah”. They had to remove her.
“There was a lot of commotion but all I could hear was the woman, she was very unstable.”
She said police told neighbours to stay inside.
“It was very dark, but normally if the cops are here... it happens quite a bit up here they’ll put their spot lights on and things like that but they hadn’t done that.”
Another neighbour, who wanted to remain anonymous, said an officer, who he thought belonged to the elite STAR Group, was crouched down outside his door, peering towards the unit where Mitchell and his accomplice were found.
He said there had been trouble at the unit previously, and thought more than two people had been taken away by police.
A man at the unit declined to comment this morning.
His front window was blocked with possessions including bedding stacked up.
The two men have been refused bail and will appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday.
Originally published as Wanted escapee caught in Adelaide
