Police charge 45 year old man with assault

Tauranga Police have arrested and charged a 45 year old Tauranga man with common assault after a 76 year old man was found in his house yesterday with serious head injuries.

The accused was due to appear in the Tauranga District Court today.

The victim underwent surgery yesterday and remains in a serious condition in Tauranga Hospital.

The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Senior Sergeant Lindsay Pilbrow, says the man that has been arrested is the man that Police captured in Tauranga Harbour yesterday afternoon.

Detective Senior Sergeant Pilbrow says even though Police have made an arrest in connection with the assault, there is still a significant amount of investigative work to be done to determine the circumstances leading up to the assault.

"There is a large amount of work still to be done at the scene, and Police and forensic experts will remain at the house for at least one to two more days."

Detective Senior Sergeant Pilbrow says Police are urgently seeking information relating to the movements of a car yesterday. The car is believed to be owned by an occupant from the victim's house.

The car is described as a Dark Blue Subaru Legacy Station Wagon, license plate number BTT823.

"We believe this car was driven around the Tauranga area yesterday and we would like to talk to any member of the public who may have seen this car, specifically between the hours of 10am and 3pm.

"If you have any information about this car's movements yesterday, please contact a member of our investigation team urgently on 07 577 4300."

There are no further updates at this time.