Crime and incident report
BURGLARIES
Overnight on 15th June, a 5-horsepower boat motor and a 10-litre petrol container were stolen from a property on Wills Road, Katikati.
Over the past two weeks, a garage on a SH2 Tahāwai property was entered, and tools have been stolen.
Over the past two weeks, a shed on a Francis Road, Katikati property was entered, and welding gear and a chainsaw were stolen.
At around 9.30am on 21st June, two males were disturbed trying to steal a trailer from an Armstrong Road property in Te Puna. They left in an older white van. If anyone has knowledge of these people or the van, we would like to hear from you.
Overnight on 20th June, property including a chainsaw, lawn mower, edge trimmer and a child’s bike were stolen from a section on Te Puna Quarry Road.
WILFUL DAMAGE
On the afternoon of 26th June, a vehicle parked on SH2 and Loop Road, Te Puna, had its tyres stabbed while the owner was away walking her dogs. A verbal altercation was had with a male driving a red Ford Focus wagon with plywood attached to its roof rails prior to the disagreement. If anyone knows of this vehicle or the driver, please contact the Katikati Police.
APPREHENSIONS
A 33-year-old Tauranga man was arrested on the evening of 26th June after an incident at a Barrett Road, Whakamārama address. He has been charged with burglary, threatening to kill and wilful damage. He appears in the Tauranga DC on the 1st of July.
A 38-year-old Mount Maunganui man has been charged with driving with excess breath alcohol and dangerous driving after members of the public reported his poor driving on the afternoon of 20th June. Police stopped the vehicle on SH2 at Katikati. He was due to appear in the Tauranga District Count on 1st July.
A 19-year-old Waharoa man has additionally been charged with attempting to steal a Subaru vehicle from Te Puna Station Road on 21st May. He is already in custody on 19 charges, mainly involving dishonesty offences in the Waikato and BOP region and including the burglary of the Challenge Service Station in Whakamārama on 17th May. He was next due to appear in the Hamilton DC on 28th June.
A 61-year-old Tauranga man was charged with assaulting a taxi driver on the afternoon of 25th June at Old Highway, Whakamārama.
A 46-year-old Katikati man was arrested and charged with assault with intent to injure after a woman received minor injuries on 24th June. He was held in custody to appear in the Tauranga DC on 30th June.
THEFT
In the early evening of 15th June, a vehicle parked on Pitua Rd and Te Puna Road was broken into, and an attempt was made to hotwire it unsuccessfully.
Plants were stolen from the Te Puna Quarry. CCTV cameras have provided a positive line of inquiry.
A person has reported a pair of air pods were stolen from the Esplanade in Ōmokoroa.
Overnight on 25th June, a vehicle parked on Carisbrook Street, Katikati, was broken into and valuable designer property was taken.
FOUND PROPERTY
A hearing aid was found on Main Road, Katikati.
GENERAL
Several motor vehicle accidents for the month, the most serious involved a twovehicle accident outside the Katikati Station. One person was taken to Tauranga Hospital for treatment.
Family harm occurrences also kept staff busy.
OTHER
Katikati staff were busy assisting with the homicide on Old Highway, Whakamārama.
Unfortunately, an elderly local man has fallen for a banking scam over the phone recently. The scammer pretended to be from the fraud department of the BNZ and informed the victim that his account had been compromised. They then proceeded to obtain sufficient information from the victim about his bank account to enable them to steal over $50,000 from his account. The money is believed to have gone into an overseas account, and he is unlikely to see it again. This is devasting for the victim who has lost his savings. I can only repeat the advice which we give out time and time again, and that is not to engage with anyone over the phone saying they are from a financial institution or a utility company. This is especially so when they start asking for details of your accounts (which they should have anyway if they were genuine) or personal information. I recommend that people hang up and contact the bank or utility company concerned using phone numbers from the phone book or official website to check to see if the phone call was genuine.
Remember that a genuine bank or company will not ask for passwords and personal details over the phone. Scammers pretending to be from banking fraud departments are common. We are seeing multiple cases every week of people being scammed out of their hardearned savings.
If you see something, say something. Call 111 if it’s happening now. Call 105 if it is after the event.