Crime spree: Boy, 12, arrested for ram raid
A group of youths, one just 12, have gone on a 12 hour crime spree which included armed robbery.
Three stolen Mazdas were used by the five to seven culprits in a ram raid on a clothing store, and the robbery of a food market, across the Waikato.
So far police have arrested one of the group - a 12-year-old boy. The drama began around midnight Sunday in Te Awamutu when one of the three stolen cars was driven through the front win- dow of Stirling Sports.
Waikato police Senior Sergeant Pete van de Wetering said the thieves stole clothing before running off to a waiting vehicle, leaving one of the stolen cars inside the smashed store.
As they tried to get away, the driver lost control on a bend and skidded into a ditch on Beechy St in central Pirongia.
‘‘There were four young villains in the car - only one was captured.’’
That youngster was a 12-year-old boy, who was arrested not far from the vehicle. He was taken home and has been referred to Youth Aid, van de Wetering said.
‘‘A fair bit of the stolen clothing from the shop was found inside the recovered vehicle.’’
CCTV footage from the Stirling Sports showed a dark-coloured Mazda Demio was also involved.
That car was then used in the armed robbery of the Te Kowhai Food Centre on Monday.
Senior Sergeant Dean Anderson said four people wearing hoodies and stockings over their faces stormed the dairy about 11am. Two were armed with a handgun and golf club.
‘‘A handgun was pointed at the store attendant,’’ Anderson said. The two men working in the store at the time instinctively fled out the back door, he said.
Anderson said the foursome took some items to a waiting Mazda Demio, which was later found dumped on the side of Cemetery Rd in Whatawhata. He could not comment on whether the weapons had been found.
It was highly probable it was the same group that had ram raided the clothing store the night before, he said. A brief in Saturday’s paper about the outdoor stage at Hamilton Lake Domain stated Hamilton City Council staff had recommended ‘‘not renewing the licence’’. No licence is needed to use the stage. Staff have recommended council not renew or replace the stage itself when it reaches the end of its useful life. That is some years away, council says, and the stage can still be booked for events through the council’s Parks and Open Spaces Unit.