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A 25-year-old Northland man will appear in the North Shore District Court on Friday in connection with the robbery of the BNZ Bank in Neville Street Warkworth on July 23.
Altogether, the man is facing six counts of aggravated robbery, which includes the $1200 heist in Warkworth.
The man was arrested in Northland on July 26 and was remanded in custody when he appeared in court last Friday. His appearance in court this Friday will be to hear his application for bail.
Warkworth police thanked the public for their assistance in the investigation.
How the robbery played out …
Warkworth, July 23, approximate times
3.37pm A man dressed in a blue hoody, striped pyjama pants, cap, black gloves and jandals enters the bank. A scarf conceals part of his face and he is wielding a crowbar. He demands cash from a BNZ staff member and is given just over $1000. During the robbery, a BNZ staff member in an office cubicle dials 111 and informs police of the situation.
3.38pm The offender is next seen by a witness running up the side ramp of the underground carpark, below the Warkworth Medical Centre, towards Alnwick Street. He abandons his jandals around the ramp area and keeps moving along Alnwick Street, to Bertram Street. The witness believed he was breaking into cars, and flagged down a car and told the driver.
3.39pm The man in the vehicle attempts to find the offender. Meanwhile, the offender is crouching in a bush at the bottom end of Bertram Street and removing his outer clothes (he is wearing other clothes underneath). Residents on Bertram Street become aware of the offender outside their property and he makes a dash for a trail at the end of the street, towards New World, leaving his gloves and crowbar near the bush.
3.40pm The man from the vehicle gets a photograph of the offender running down a trail before he disappears and provides a picture to police. Part way down the trail, the offender ditches his hoodie, pants, scarf and cap. He also loses some of the stolen cash as he goes down some steep terrain. Meanwhile, Warkworth police are informed and move into the area – some officers go to the BNZ, while others close in on Bertram Street.
4.30pm Police continue to patrol the area without success. A police dog and handler arrive from Ellerslie to see if the man is hiding around the trail area in the bush near Lucy Moore Park. A scent is picked up leading back to the medical centre’s underground carpark. No further progress can be made and the police investigation focusses on identifying and finding the offender.
