Quick-thinking shop assistant aids Taupo Police enquiry

The actions of a quick-thinking shop assistant resulted in Taupo Police locating and charging a man within 24 hours of a robbery earlier this week.

At approximately 4.40pm on June 30th 2010, a male Maori entered the Liquor King store in Richmond Heights where he intended to buy cigarettes.

The offender has then approached the lone, male shop assistant and demanded money from the till, leaving the store with a substantial amount of money.

The shop assistant then ran from the store and quickly noted down the registration number of the car the offender left the scene in.

Together with a description of the offender, the vehicle registration and images captured by the store's CCTV system, the alleged offender was swiftly located and arrested by Taupo Police staff.

As a result of this incident, a 26-year-old Taupo man appeared in the Taupo District Court on July 2nd 2010 where he faced one charge of Robbery and one charge of Driving while Disqualified.

The accused was remanded in custody to reappear in the Taupo District Court on July 5, 2010.

Detective Allan Humphries of Taupo Police praised the forward-thinking actions of the shop assistant.

He says, "this is another good example of the Police and the community working together to solve crime in the Taupo Area".