Update – Tuesday 20 February 4.40pm
One of the three teenagers charged in connection with two aggravated robberies in Cambridge earlier this month has been remanded in custody.
The three males are scheduled to appear in the Hamilton District Court on different days.
An 18-year-old from Cambridge has been remanded on bail to appear on March 7, one 17-year-old has been bailed to February 28 and the third, also 17, is in custody awaiting a hearing on February 27. The 17-year-olds are from Hamilton.
The arrests, made last Tuesday, were revealed in the Cambridge News.
Police said the incidents were regarded as priority cases and were treated with urgency “due to community safety” and the result showed the hard work detectives from the Criminal Investigations Branch had done alongside Cambridge Police staff.
Both robberies were carried out around dawn – the first on February 2 and the second on February 7. The robbers made off with cigarettes and vapes. In the first robbery at Challenge in Cambridge at least one of the robbers was armed and in the second a staff member at BP in Leamington was hit with a crowbar.
Update – Thursday 15 February 6pm
Police have made three arrests in relation to the aggravated robberies of two Cambridge service stations, one on February 2 and one on February 7.
Sergeant Benjamin Joll said during the second incident, a staff member was injured by one of the offenders.
Two 17-year-old youths from Hamilton have appeared in Hamilton Youth Court in relation to the incidents, and an 18-year-old man from Cambridge has appeared in the Hamilton District Court in relation to the incidents.
“We consider these incidents to be priority cases and treat them with urgency due to community safety. We are pleased with this result as it shows the hard work detectives from the Criminal Investigations Branch have done alongside Cambridge Police staff,” said Joll.
Thursday 15 February 5am
Police have made three arrests following two service station robberies in Cambridge.
Challenge in Duke St was hit in an armed raid on February 2 and BP in Leamington five days later.
And as this edition was about to go to press, Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Patterson announced three males had been arrested.
The trio comprised two 17 year olds from Hamilton and an 18-year-old from Cambridge.
Patterson said CIB staff had made the robberies a priority case and a matter of urgency.
In the Challenge case, where four robbers were involved, one threatened a staff member with a firearm. In the second, a staff member at BP Leamington suffered a wrist injury after being hit with a crowbar.
Dave Wilkinson wants to see a camera installed to cover Duke Street from his garage looking into town, and Anzac Street. Photo: Roy Pilott.
Following the incidents Challenge service station owner Dave Wilkinson told The News “we’re all just sick of it”.
Senior Constable Deb Hann has told retailers via the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce to be vigilant, especially at opening and closing times.
“I recommend that staff do not work alone at these vulnerable times. Look out for cars parked up close by, especially where occupants are still inside. At all times look out for anyone that appears to be casing out the service station,” she warned.
The memo came on the day of the second robbery and she said the timing and circumstances were very similar to the earlier one.
In both cases, the robbers appeared to have “cased out” the station and were aware of the staff’s morning routines.
The incidents in Cambridge came after Waikato police said they had rumbled one robbery ring.
Operation Smelter, targeting a group responsible for a series of aggravated robberies, led to the arrest of 10 people, as young as 14, on, among other things, aggravated robbery and burglary counts.
The two Cambridge incidents have fuelled debate over the placement of CCTV cameras in the town.
In both cases CCTV footage was obtained from the service stations.
Wilkinson told The News last week he was frustrated at the lack of a CCTV camera in Duke Street and that he understood the number plate recognition on one camera was not working on all vehicles.
It is understood that a late January incident around the intersection of Victoria St and Norfolk Drive Down where drivers performed “donuts and burnouts”, causing damage to the road around midnight was in an area not covered by camera.
The incident was described as “an hour of chaos”.
Waipā District Council works with community groups around the placement of cameras.
Wilkinson pointed to a community led effort in Wairarapa which he believed could bear fruit in Waipā.
He was impressed by the initiative after reading a Hawke’s Bay Today report which told how 18 CCTV cameras had been added to the central Hawke’s Bay security network in Waipukurau and Waipawa thanks to a community project started 10 years ago.
Since the establishment of the CHB Community Security Trust in 2016 more than $50,000 had been raised for cameras attached privately owned building and monitored at the Waipukurau police station.
BP Leamington
