Suspects nabbed in petrol station raid
A Horotiu household had a rude awakening in the early hours of Monday morning as police nabbed two people wanted for a dramatic petrol station robbery.
A woman, who asked not to be named, was woken by police who apprehended two alleged offenders on her property after 4am. The pair were believed to be part of a group of people who used baseball bats to smash into a Huntly Z petrol station.
Police were called after a number of people forced their way into the Great South Road facility at 3.17am. A staff member locked themselves in the safe room. They were uninjured in the incident, a police spokeswoman said.
The offenders stole cigarettes before fleeing in two vehicles.
Police located one vehicle near Horotiu where the occupants fled on foot. Police officers and a dog unit caught five of the alleged offenders said the police spokeswoman.
She said that they believed the group had tried to break into another service station in Horotiu before they smashed their way into the Huntly station. They damaged a window at Horotiu but they were unsuccessful in getting into the building just before 3am.
The resident said that she heard people shouting and she thought that someone was having an argument in the street.
‘‘I said to my husband what is going on out there and he’s braver than me so got up and had a look,’’ she said.
They were told by police that they had just apprehended a couple of guys on their property.
‘‘The guy that they had, said ‘Oh please, miss.’ Like do you seriously think I am going to come out and rescue you?’’
She said that at another property police found one of the offenders hiding out in a garage.
‘‘It was a little bit scary not knowing how many people were still there or whether they were lurking around in the bushes in the garden.
‘‘My son woke up, he was a bit upset. He thought that they might try to break into the house and hold us captive – that is the vivid imagination of a 10-year-old though.’’
The family’s dog, which is old and deaf, slept right through the fracas. The alleged offenders are currently being interviewed.