Hawke’s Bay

Robbers more brazen

Robbing a store manned by a large bloke surrounded by rifles and fishing knives wouldn’t be most people’s idea of a good plan, but that’s what Mike Moore has had to put up with three times during the past three months. The latest robbery of Hamill’s hunting and fishing store in Napier occurred on October 30, and began with a man asking for a Work and Income quote for clothing. It ended with Moore losing about $3000 worth of clothing and standing outside the store holding the rear windscreen wiper he’d ripped off the getaway car as it sped away. It was the third similar drive-off robbery at the store in three months. ‘‘I’ve never seen it so bad. It’s just rampant, and it’s brazen, and it is incredibly frustrating – both in a financial sense and because there seem to be more and more people doing it,’’ he said. Details of the latest robbery were posted on the store’s Facebook page, with the offer of a $500 reward for information. This elicited a surprising amount of information, including the identity and address of the alleged thief, which Moore passed on to police. Hawkes Bay Area Commander Inspector Dave Greig said the investigation was ongoing. Anyone finding themselves in a similar situation to Moore should call 111 immediately, he said.