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Dunedin police officers indicate the direction in which a man fled after the alleged aggravated robbery of Forbury Pharmacy, in Hillside Rd, yesterday. Photo by Peter McIntosh. |
Members of the public are being praised for helping Dunedin
police capture a man who threatened three pharmacy workers
with a knife, tied them up and robbed the shop last
night.
A 45-year-old Dunedin man has been charged with two counts of
aggravated robbery.
Detective Sergeant Brett Roberts said a man entered the
Hillside Rd pharmacy about 5.30pm wearing a balaclava and
told a staff member he had a knife.
While the man was restraining the three staff members with
tape, a member of the public outside the shop noticed the
incident and called Dunedin police, Det Sgt Roberts said.
When police arrived, members of the public were able to point
officers in the direction of the man's escape.
The man was pursued into nearby Ruskin Tce, where he
allegedly told police he had a gun.
Det Sgt Roberts said the man was pepper-sprayed and taken
into custody.
The man had a bag with him, but police were unable to say
last night what was in it.
They said circumstances of the robbery were similar to
another at the pharmacy in July, in which the offender was
never caught.
A knife-wielding man made off with a quantity of prescription
drugs following an aggravated robbery which occurred about
5.25pm on July 5, just before closing time.
The man had herded the five staff members into a back room.
The offender stole prescription drugs and left the pharmacy,
running off along Ruskin Tce.
Det Sgt Roberts praised the public for their assistance and
the calmness of pharmacy staff.
"We're absolutely pleased the man was caught.
"This robbery was solved by members of the public getting
involved and reporting the activity to police and pointing
out the offender decamping.
"They acted correctly in not getting involved, but were
invaluable to solving this armed robbery."
The staff released themselves and were unharmed.
They were shocked and seemed to be coping "admirably well"
following the incident.
Det Sgt Roberts said other charges would follow.
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