A Tauranga man who went 'off the radar” evading police for 15 months on outstanding driving charges will spend the next year in prison.

Kauri Arthur Kerr, 21, was sentenced in Tauranga District Court today on two separate charges of driving while disqualified, driving with excess breath alcohol causing injury and breaching release conditions.

Kauri Arthur Kerr was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

Kerr was arrested last Thursday after evading police for the last year on charges dating back to 2011. A warrant for his arrest was issued in July 16, 2012 after he failed to appear in court. Then in May this year he featured in Tauranga Police's Top 10 Most Wanted list.

On September 5 Tauranga police went to a property on Hampton Terrace in Merivale at 11am to look for Kerr in relation to four active warrants on the driving charges and breaching court release conditions.

A short police chase followed in and around Yatton Park and Greerton suburb before Kerr was arrested at Fraser Cove.

In court today duty solicitor David Bates told Judge Robert Wolff the Kerr's family preference is for home detention, but Kerr was willing to accept a term of imprisonment no more than 12 months.

'If he was able to get a sentence of imprisonment for no more than 12 months he would consent and not bother the court any further,” says David.

Judge Wolff says given Kerr's history and recent breaches of community work home detention will not be a 'particularly likely” outcome.

Judge Wolff sentenced Kerr to 12 months imprisonment for driving with excess breath alcohol causing injury, along with 12 months for the two disqualified driving charges and three months for the breach of release conditions – all to be served concurrently.

'The accident required you and your passenger to be cut from the vehicle. These offences occurred in 2011 and 2012 and you have been off the radar for a period of time,” says Judge Wolff.

'In the circumstances I need to send a clear and simple message to you and your drinking and driving. You should have the message by now having injured someone in the accident.”

When he was arrested last Thursday, Kerr was found with $1100 in his pocket, which has been put toward $1500 of outstanding fines.