Alleged present thief to spend Christmas behind bars

File photo / NZ Herald

A man who allegedly burgled an Auckland home and took a family's Christmas presents will spend Christmas Day behind bars.

Ngati Terekia, aka Ngati Poona, 44, appeared in Auckland District Court charged with burgling a house a couple of minutes' walk from his Freemans Bay home.

His lawyer Jon Wiles applied for bail on his client's behalf.

He said Terekia had been employed full time as a painter for some years and made other submissions on his behalf which cannot be reported.

But Judge Claire Ryan declined the application.

A distraught Auckland family woke on Saturday morning to find their presents missing from under their Christmas tree, as well as numerous items of electronic equipment, including a mobile phone.

The family reported the theft to Auckland Police at 6am and within hours, their gifts had been found, thanks to an alert from Google and fast-working police officers.

An alert notified the complainants a new account had been set up in a different name.

They reported the name to police, who checked the person's address and found the accused.

Soon after, all property and presents were rewrapped and returned to the family.

Auckland Central Area Commander Inspector Jill Rogers said police had taken as much pleasure in returning the family's presents and electronic equipment as the family had displayed when they were reunited with their belongings.

Terekia was remanded in custody without plea until next month when he will enter a plea to the charge.

The maximum penalty for burglary is 10 years imprisonment.