Third youth arrested over aggravated robberies

A 14-year old boy has been arrested in relation to the aggravated robbery of the Caltex Hornby service station on Sunday 9 June.

He was arrested last night [Monday 17 June] and will appear in the Christchurch Youth Court today.

He is the third youth arrested in relation to aggravated robberies in the past three days, after another 14-year old and a 17-year old were arrested on Sunday for the attempted armed robbery of a Sockburn dairy on Sunday afternoon.

Detective Senior Sergeant Darryl Sweeney says yesterday's arrest came about as a direct result of follow-up enquiries after the earlier arrests. The three youths were known to each other, he says.

Police have also praised the efforts of a member of the public whose recall of a car's number plate led to Sunday's arrest of the two youths.

Detective Senior Sergeant Sweeney says after the incident at the Racecourse Dairy a member of the public approached officers and said he had seen two males running down Epsom Rd.

"The witness said both were wearing dark clothing with their hoods up and had got into a vehicle. He followed the vehicle, but lost sight of it after it took off at speed.

"When the witness approached police at the dairy he was able to provide useful information, including the vehicle's registration number which he had remembered.

"As a result our investigators were able to identify an address where the vehicle was located, and cordons were put in place. When the car left the location the two youths were arrested and a search of the vehicle located a BB gun under the passenger seat."

He says the information received from the witness was the key to the arrests.

"The fact that this witness came to police with the information, and had taken careful note of the details of the vehicle, made all the difference in this case.

"We were able to locate the vehicle quickly, get our officers on the scene and be in a position to make an early arrest.

"This is why we continue to encourage members of the public to contact us promptly whenever they see suspicious activity - and to get as much information as possible that can help us to identify suspects or vehicles."

Anyone who sees suspicious or criminal activity happening should report it immediately to Police via 111.

Historic or non-urgent crime can be reported to Christchurch police on (03) 3637400.

Alternatively, to provide information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS