Crime and incident report
Burglaries
In the early hours of 28th September, a thief entered a Snodgrass Road property and broke into sheds and a campervan. Two KTM 690 motorbikes, a Giant mountain bike, motorcycle gear, tools and fuel cans of diesel were stolen.
On 25-26th September, a caravan was broken into at Tanners Point, and a .22 rifle was stolen.
Overnight on 24th September, a Lund Road, Aongatete garage was entered, and a .243 calibre rifle, 2 E-bikes and multiple Ryobi tools were stolen. One of the Ebikes was found abandoned further up Lund Road.
Overnight on 24th September, a shed on Walker Road East was broken into, and diesel cans and a leaf blower were stolen.
The same night an attempt was made to steal a Toyota Altezza car parked on a Lochead Road, Te Puna property.
Between 24th-27th September, diesel was syphoned from work vehicles parked at a depot on Tetley Road. Two 20-litre drums of diesel were also stolen.
Youths have broken into the Katikati College Action Centre. We are following up on positive lines of enquiry due to the CCTV on site. Nothing appears to have been taken.
Overnight on 29th September, a large shed on a SH2 Whakamārama property was entered, and a substantial amount of property was stolen, including a Go Kart, Honda XL 250 motorbike, four alloy wheels, tools and two E-bikes.
Overnight on 3rd October, a trailered generator was stolen from Prospect Drive, Katikati. It was recovered hidden in the bush up Lund Road the following day.
Also, on 3rd October, a vehicle was broken into on Mulgan Street, Katikati and a car stereo and subwoofer were stolen.
A Holden Commodore and Jeep were stolen from a Tetley Road, Katikati commercial address over the weekend 11th October (see apprehensions)
A shipping container situated on an Oikimoke Road address was broken into, and a gun safe containing five revolvertype rifles was stolen. If anyone saw any suspicious activity in the area, please contact your nearest Police Station.
On the night of 13th October, a garage door was forced open on a building site on Ainsworth Road, Minden, and a large number of plumbing goods ready for installation were stolen.
On Thursday night, 13th October, during the power cut that affected the WBOP, the Katikati RSA was broken into, but the alarm was still able to be activated. The tills were targeted, and some cash was taken.
Theft
Further thefts of parcels were reported on Friday afternoon on Esdaile Road, Whakamārama. Packaging was found nearby. If anyone finds these thieves in the act of going through letterboxes, call 111 immediately.
A number of vehicles were broken into while the owners attended a wedding reception on Bruntwood Drive,
Whakamārama, on Saturday night.
Headphones were stolen from BP Katikati on 29th of September. We are confident of the identity of the culprit and are looking for the person concerned.
Two vehicles parked at a Katikati tavern were broken into on Friday night. Both had windows broken, and a small amount of property was stolen.
On Sunday 16th October, between 9 and 10am, two vehicles parked outside a Kauri Point Road orchard were broken into. An attempt was made to steal one, and a .22 rifle and ammunition was stolen from the other. We would like to hear from anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity in the area at the time.
Unlawful taking of motor vehicles
A Mazda Demio was stolen from Carisbrooke Street, Katikati, on the night of 24th September. The vehicle was located abandoned in Henderson, Auckland, the next day.
Between 25th and 27th September, a white Ford Courier utility reggo CLE311 was stolen from Patricia Place, Katikati. This was later found burnt out on Thompson’s Track.
On the evening of 23rd September, an attempt was made to steal a Nissan vehicle on Beach Road, Katikati.
An attempt was made to steal a Nissan car on Middlebrook Drive, Katikati, on Thursday night, 22nd September.
On Saturday night, a Subaru Legacy was stolen from Polley Cresent, Katikati. It was found by Police abandoned on Esdaile Road before the owner realised it had been stolen.
A Nissan Laurel motor vehicle was stolen from the side of Fairview Road, Katikati, on 17th of October (see apprehensions).
Wilful damage
On the morning or early afternoon of 15th October, a vehicle parked in a partially open garage on Park Road had a number of its panels deliberately scratched.
Arrests and apprehensions
A wallet was stolen from a delivery truck at Caltex Katikati on the afternoon of 28th of September. A PayWave card was subsequently used four times to buy goods at stores to the tune of $400 plus. Police located and arrested a woman at a nearby motel. She has been charged with the theft of the wallet and the subsequent fraudulent use of the PayWave card.
A 26-year-old Tahāwai man was arrested for driving with a revoked licence and also for an outstanding arrest warrant after being stopped on SH2 Katikati on 24th September.
On the evening of 24th September, a vehicle was stopped by Police on SH2 near Pahoia Road. The driver failed to remain stopped after breath test procedures were commenced. He was located soon after on foot but took off into farmland. A Police dog tracked him for around two hours before he was finally located. A 37-year-old Aongatete man has been charged with failing to remain stopped and refusing an officer’s request for a blood sample.
A 55-year-old Tahāwai man has been charged with driving with excess breath alcohol after being stopped on Park Road, Katikati, on Friday night.
A 29-year-old Katikati man has been charged with driving whilst disqualified after being stopped by Police on Talisman Drive on Friday afternoon. His vehicle was impounded.
A 25-year-old Tauranga man has been charged with driving with excess breath alcohol after being stopped on Tangitū Road, Te Puna, on Thursday evening. The thieves left the vehicle abandoned in the middle of the road.
A 32-year-old Katikati man has been charged with driving with a suspended driver’s licence after being stopped on Mulgan Street, Katikati, on the evening of 26th September.
On 1st October, a vehicle was impounded on Jocelyn Street, Katikati, due to the driver having previously been forbidden to drive.
On 1st October, Police were called to a woman attempting to use a PayWave card stolen from a vehicle earlier in the week. On our arrival, she had left the store and was in the process of stealing property from a nearby vehicle. A 27year-old woman who is temporarily staying in Katikati has been charged with two counts of theft from vehicles and several charges of using a document to gain a pecuniary advantage. She has been remanded in custody to reappear in court on the 4th October.
A search warrant was executed at a Katikati address on 5th October. A large amount of property stolen from rural burglaries was located. As a result, two Katikati men aged 23 and 27 were arrested and charged with six counts of receiving stolen property recently taken in six burglaries between Katikati north and Te Puna. One of the men is also charged with possessing ammunition without a licence. We are interested in hearing from anyone who may be missing a Stihl Magnum chainsaw and a Ryobi cordless grinder which were found during the search warrant. Both were due to appear in court on 10th October. A 29-year-old Katikati man who was also at the address has been charged with possession of methamphetamine and obstruction.
A 26-year-old Matakana Island man found in possession of a recently stolen late model utility vehicle has been charged with receiving stolen property and has appeared in the Tauranga DC. He was found in possession of the vehicle at Ōmokoroa on 7th October.
A 43-year-old Katikati man has been charged with driving with excess breath alcohol after being stopped driving in Katikati on 9th October.
On the afternoon of the 18th October, the stolen Nissan Laurel listed above was seen driving from Ōmokoroa towards Katikati with different plates attached. Police stopped this vehicle on Wharawhara Road and apprehended a male after a foot chase across the
Wharawhara Stream. A 27-year-old Katikati man has been charged with receiving the stolen vehicle. He was also wanted on a warrant for failing to appear at court on numerous other dishonesty charges. He was due to appear in the Tauranga DC on 19th October with his bail opposed.
On 17th October, a 23-year-old Katikati man was arrested for receiving a stolen Holden Commodore vehicle taken from Tetley Road over the weekend. The vehicle was located at his Katikati address. He was also charged with breaching a protection order and has been remanded in custody until 28th October. A Jeep stolen during the same burglary was recovered from Kauri Point on 18th October. Investigations are still continuing.
A 22-year-old Tauranga man had his vehicle impounded and was charged with driving whilst disqualified after being stopped driving on Dawson Road, Aongatete, on 14th October.
On the night of Thursday, 13th October, a 22-year-old Tauranga woman was stopped on SH2 Katikati. She has been charged with driving on a suspended driver’s licence.
General
It has been busy for the Katikati Police team again. We have made some positive inroads into offending in Ōmokoroa, with youths from both Tauranga and Ōmokoroa being interviewed. This seems to have stemmed offending in the Ōmokoroa area for now.
We now have had a spike of dishonesty offending around the Katikati township and the rural areas surrounding Katikati. Disturbingly there have been two firearms stolen. Luckily one didn’t have a bolt, so it’s as good as a club. It is a good reminder to secure your firearms in gun safes and to hide your safe keys where nobody can find them.
Whilst the team are actively patrolling the area and stopping vehicles looking for active criminals, we are constantly coming across people who shouldn’t be driving, whether it be because they are drunk or they are disqualified from driving.
Rural burglaries involving large amounts of property are still occurring. The amount of property would indicate that a utility vehicle or a vehicle with a trailer would be required to transport the goods. Call 111 if you see anything suspicious, particularly on rural properties.
Hopefully, these recent apprehensions will slow down some of the dishonesty offending which has been occurring across the district recently. As always, let us know any information relating to criminal activity. This will be kept in confidence.
Information provided by the public is usually what leads to the apprehension of criminals and the recovery of property.
If you see something, say something. Call 111 if it’s happening now. Call 105 if it is after the event.