Pair admit daylight heist
Men stole $200,000 of jewellery in mall smash and grab
Two men have admitted to their part in a brazen daylight heist in which merchandise estimated to be worth $200,000 was pilfered from a jewellery store inside a busy Auckland mall — then was offered up for sale to a nearby jewellery wholesaler just hours later.
Raimona Tehau, 28, of Manurewa and Aidan Webster, 19, of Birkdale both pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the aggravated burglary of Brownsons Jewellers in Royal Oak Shopping Mall, one week after codefendant Benjamin Rikihana Webster, 40, also pleaded guilty.
Police said the trio tried to disguise their identities with face masks, sunglasses and hats after arriving at the shopping centre in a stolen vehicle
on Sunday, July 28 last year.
After charging into the jewellery store they began systematically smashing display cases with hammers, stuffing “high-end jewellery” into their backpacks.
The jewellery store owner, who was helping a customer at the time, was described in court documents as having fled as the assailants yelled at him. The mall’s building manager also fled after arriving at the store to investigate the noise and finding Benjamin Webster raising a hammer
at him in a threatening manner, police alleged.
Security staff were alerted, but the trio got away after running through the mall and driving away at speed.
The thieves’ luck ran out less than two hours later when they showed up at a jewellery wholesaler in Mt Eden, about 6km from where the hammer heist had just occurred.
The owner of the second business became suspicious when he was offered “a unique-designed 18-carat red popcorn style chain”, which he recognised as an item he had earlier sold to Brownsons.
He called the Brownsons store owner and confirmed that it had been stolen that day.
His next call was to police. A short time later, police found the trio in a car outside the Mt Eden business, court documents state.
A large amount of jewellery was found inside the vehicle, along with hammers.
In addition, items were found “in numerous pockets of the clothing worn by Benjamin Webster” and in a side bag carried by Aidan Webster, documents state.
As they were taken into custody, Benjamin Webster and Tehau declined to comment. Aidan Webster, however, was more forthcoming.
“I’ll be honest with you, bro. I did it,” police reported him saying.
While the exact cost of the stolen jewellery has not been determined, it was estimated to be worth about $200,000.
Most of the items have since been recovered, authorities have said.
The trio are set to be sentenced together in April.