Police appeal for help to identify offender
Police have released images of an offender who is alleged to have robbed a New Plymouth restaurant while brandishing a machete.
About 7pm on November 23, the man, who was wearing a beanie with eye holes cut out, entered the Pizza Hut on Tukapa St, which is directly opposite the police station, and demanded the manager open the till before making off with more than $1000 cash.
An employee who tried to take the weapon off the offender was injured and required stitches to four fingers.
The offender left the restaurant and ran north along Tukapa St before turning right at the roundabout and heading along Sanders Ave where he got into a 1997 light blue Nissan Maxima registration WS6931.
Detective Patrick Tongi said police were appealing to anyone who saw the car in the area around the time of the robbery or could identify the offender.
The vehicle drove along Sanders Ave, turned left on to Clawton St before it stopped to let out the offender who then ran down a walkway that leads to Kenmore St.
The man is described as a European of solid build, about 1.8m tall, with olive skin, bushy eyebrows, with short black shaggy untidy hair, wearing grey trackpants, a puffy brown desert camouflage jacket, black shoes and carrying a large machete with a dark handle.
The car was later recovered in the Spotswood area on Saturday and has been sent for forensic examination.
This week police executed a search warrant at a New Plymouth address in relation to the aggravated robbery and recovered items of interest.
Anyone with information about the robbery is urged to contact the New Plymouth police station on 06
759 5500 or Crimestoppers on 0800
555 111.