Waitakere Police say five Pacific youths who chased and caught a man wanted for an aggravated robbery in New Lynn yesterday acted responsibly.
Police say the robbery happened at 2.50pm on Monday 27 August 2007 when a man armed with a knife walked into a dairy in Totara Avenue in the West Auckland suburb of New Lynn and demanded cash.
The dairy owner refused and defended himself with a wooden hammer. A violent struggle ensued. The offender held a knife at the victim's throat forcing the dairy owner to hand over his wallet containing cash. The offender then ran from the dairy with the victim in pursuit.
Five young Pacific youths were in the vicinity and when they saw what was happening immediately came to the victim's assistance. They chased the offender on foot and caught him. A small amount of cash, and the knife used in the attack were all recovered by the young men. The youths then marched the offender 500 metres to the New Lynn Police Station for his arrest.
Police have commended the actions of the five young men and praised their community spirit in coming to the assistance of the dairy owner. The victim received minor lacerations to his right wrist, varied grazes to his lower right leg.
Police recommend to the public that whenever they locate an offender a degree of caution should always be exercised in every circumstance, so that groups or individuals do not place themselves at unnecessary risk.
A 30 year old male beneficiary of New Lynn will appear in the Waitakere District Court today on aggravated robbery, threatening to kill, and aggravated assault [2] charges. The penalty for these offences is 14 years, seven years and three years respectively.