Video: Police arrest suspect after car chaseKEY POINTS:
A would-be jewel thief who sparked a high-speed car chase across central Auckland bungled his robbery attempt from start to finish.
The drama began about noon yesterday when a man walked into Bilkey and Co Fine Jewellers in Remuera Rd and demanded the most expensive items. He then threatened staff with a large, heavy torch and took an emerald diamond ring worth $8500.
But when he tried to leave, the security doors closed. He then accidentally locked himself in - trapping himself inside with seven staff members.
His strange behaviour was captured by the store's security cameras.
The man demanded to be let out but store owner Bob Bilkey said he would be released only if he gave the ring back.
"I told him I wasn't letting him go until he gave the ring back."
Lyn Bilkey, who was in the store with their daughters, said the other violent incidents in recent days ran through her mind.
"We didn't know what he was going to do. I don't think anything we were saying was registering."
Her daughter Kirsten Bilkey said they thought the man must be on drugs by the way he was speaking and acting.
"It's then when you start to get scared."
Manager Angella Jenks said it was the first time she had felt threatened in the store. The recent fatal robbery of Navtej Singh in Manurewa was in her mind throughout the ordeal.
The man refused to give the ring back but then put it back on the counter. Mr Bilkey unlocked the door and the man ran out of the store. He was pursued by police who were forced to call off the chase after six minutes because of his dangerous driving.
The police Eagle helicopter tracked the car as it wound its way down the northwestern motorway to Waterview and then into Ponsonby and the central city. Police were especially concerned after receiving a report that a man driving a car matching the description had a firearm.
The Subaru Legacy reached speeds of up to 150kmh on the motorway and 90kmh in residential streets. It travelled the wrong way down parts of the motorway and ran red lights, narrowly missing a head-on collision and pedestrians in Ponsonby.
Witnesses told the Herald the driver had a "big grin on his face" and was honking his horn constantly as he weaved through traffic.
The chase ended when he pulled over in Tamaki Drive, near Okahu Bay, after road spikes ripped a rear tyre down to its rim.
"Eventually he put his hands out the window to advise police that he was going to pull over," Senior Sergeant Junior Abraham said.
He was handcuffed and driven to Auckland central police station.
Despite the chase through lunchtime traffic no one was injured. Mr Abraham said the man ran a "truckload" of red lights and narrowly missed colliding with pedestrians.
The Subaru the man drove was parked on the left of Tamaki Drive, near the intersection with Kitemoana St. Its passenger window was open, with a Canon video camera on the seat and several books in the footwell.
* Police said last night that a man in his late 20s had been charged with failing to stop and would appear in court today.
