Police have made arrests and recovered stolen goods following an aggravated robbery in Onehunga on Tuesday afternoon.
Last night, Police located a vehicle of interest in the offending and following a pursuit arrested both occupants.
Detective Senior Sergeant Scott Armstrong, from Auckland City CIB, says enquiries had been underway into the aggravated robbery at a jewellery store on Onehunga Mall just after 4pm.
A large amount of jewellery was stolen as a result. After 10pm, a vehicle that fled the scene was sighted in Papakura.
¡°Staff deployed into the area, locating the vehicle travelling through Manurewa and Eagle was soon providing observations from overhead,¡± Detective Senior Sergeant Armstrong says.
¡°Police attempted to stop this vehicle on Roscommon Road, but it drove away at speed and was not pursued.¡±
A minor collision occurred with a member of the public¡¯s vehicle, but occupants avoided injury.
Spikes were successfully deployed as the vehicle entered the South-Western Motorway and headed north.
¡°Eagle has continued to observe the vehicle¡¯s erratic driving on the motorway, with it eventually returning south and exiting at Massey Road,¡± Detective Senior Sergeant Armstrong says.
The vehicle travelled towards Mt Wellington Highway and spikes were again successfully deployed.
Detective Senior Sergeant Armstrong says a pursuit was initiated before the vehicle travelled on the South-Eastern Highway towards Pakuranga.
¡°Throughout this incident, the vehicle has been driven extremely erratically and fortunately no members of the public suffered any harm.¡±
The pursuit came to an end after the vehicle collided with barriers at the intersection of Ti Rakau Drive and Reeves Road.
¡°These offenders approached another member of the public¡¯s vehicle; however, our staff quickly got the pair, aged 15 and 17, into custody.
¡°We have also recovered a large amount of jewellery in the vehicle.¡±
Detective Senior Sergeant Armstrong says charges have been since been laid.
The 17-year-old male has been charged with aggravated robbery, dangerous driving, failing to stop and two counts of unlawfully taking a motor vehicle.
He has also been charged in connection with a violent attempted robbery at a Mt Albert sports bar on 22 June.
¡°Those charges include four counts of aggravated wounding, assault with intent to rob, committing a burglary with a weapon and assault,¡± Detective Senior Sergeant Armstrong says.
He is expected in the Auckland Youth Court today, with his bail to be opposed.
The 15-year-old has also been arrested and charged with aggravated robbery and two counts of unlawfully taking of a motor vehicle.? He is also due to appear in the Auckland Youth Court this morning.
¡°Police are appalled at the level of violence used in these sorts of incidents,¡± Detective Senior Sergeant Armstrong says.
¡°We will continue to actively investigate this sort of offending which causes a high level of harm to the business owners as well as the wider community.¡±
ENDS.
Jarred Williamson/51½ÖÉä