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By Rafaella Melo and Doug Laing
Offenders smashed their way into at least four stores and scoped out another in Hawke’s Bay in a three-hour early morning crime wave, leaving retailers “shaken” and picking up the pieces.
Hawke’s Bay area commander Detective Senior Sergeant Sally Patrick said the incidents, believed to be linked, began at 4.25am on Wednesday, and included threats to staff at the one business open at the time.
Te Mata Four Square in Havelock North. Photo / Patrick O'Sullivan
The first attempted burglary was at Te Mata Four Square in Havelock North. The offenders, in a Mazda Demio, smashed the store’s glass but left empty-handed because they were unable to get into the cigarette cabinet.
About 5am, the suspects attempted to break into a second premises, the Ahuriri Corner Store on the corner of Bridge Street and Waghorne Streets in Ahuriri, Patrick said.
It would have been the fourth break-in in two years at the Ahuriri store had the offenders been able to gain entry. The proprietor, whose shop was hit in a ram raid in June, is bemused, as there’s a sign on the window which states no cigarettes and cash are kept on the premises overnight. There was no damage to the store.
Caught in the act: A security cam captures the moment the offender smashes the store's freezer on Windsor Avenue.
The spree then continued at a store on Hill Road, Bay View – believed to also be a Four Square – where police said the offenders used two vehicles to smash through the glass entrance.
Not long after, an aggravated robbery attempt was reported at a service station on Main North Road, Bay View. Patrick said two individuals entered the station, threatening staff and demanding cigarettes.
The Mazda Demio was later found abandoned at a Bay View service station.
The final incident occurred on Windsor Avenue in Parkvale at 7.25am, where offenders broke into a store and smashed a freezer with a hammer before fleeing when the store’s fog cannon activated.
Glass-flavoured ice cream – the remnants of the break-in. Photo / Rafaella Melo
“I panicked and screamed,” the store’s owner said. “I feared for my family’s safety and my life.”
She was frustrated not only with the incident but what she described as a failure to protect small business owners.
“After so many incidents reported through the night, why did it happen again at 7am in my place?”
Police can only do so much, but there needed to be real measures in place, she said.
Officers were currently conducting scene examinations and had spoken with affected store owners, Patrick said.
“These actions have left a number of retailers having to pick up the pieces, and a number of retail workers feeling understandably shaken.”
She asked the public to report any information that may assist in locating the offenders.
If you have information that might aid inquiries into these incidents, contact police via 105 and quote file number 241113/1542.
