Police have arrested and charged three young men with aggravated burglary and kidnapping, following an incident in School Road, Wellsford last night.
At around 7.30pm a 79 year-old man heard a knock on the door. When he went to answer it there was no-one there, so he walked out to his front gate. He was then approached by one man and noticed another two near his laundry.
The elderly gentleman was forced back into his house. He was knocked to the ground, assaulted and was then tied up, as the two other offenders allegedly went through his house.
The offenders took the keys to the victim’s two cars – a Ford Falcon and a Ford ute, and fled.
The victim managed to free himself and ran to a neighbour’s address.
Police were immediately deployed into the area and a patrol car from Wellsford noticed the two stolen cars driving south on State Highway One. Using a coordinated approach, road spikes were laid further ahead and the Ford Falcon was spiked and stopped near the Johnsons Hill Tunnel. Two offenders were arrested at the scene.
A short time later, a Motorway Patrol unit located and stopped the Ford ute, and arrested the third male.
The victim was taken to hospital at around 11pm for a check-up, and is not believed to have suffered any serious injuries.
The three offenders are aged 16, 16 and 15 years old. They will appear in the North Shore District Court this morning charged with kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
ENDS
Media please note there is no further information available at this point in time about the victim's welfare/condition.
Beth Bates/NZ Police