Two firemen catch armed man after $2000 P.O. hold-up

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34133, 21 April 1976, Page 1

Two firemen catch armed man after $2000 P.O. hold-up

Two firemen chased and caught an armed man who robbed the Sydenham Post Office of about 82000 in cash yesterday afternoon.

Station Officer Graeme Daikee and Fireman-Driver Neil Stewart cornered the man behind a house in Maldon Street after a 600-yard chase through school grounds, streets, and alleys near the post office.

The 22-year-old fugitive offered no resistance when the two firemen finally caught up with him.

He was handed over to the police, and will appear in the Christchurch Magistrate’s Court today charged with armed robbery. The stolen money was recovered, and the police took possession of a .22 calibre gas-operated pistol.

i Detectives spent most of [the afternoon interviewing a second man in connection with the robbery but no charges were laid against him. ‘This is a hold-up’ The Sydenham postmaster (Mr T. J. Whitta) said the man walked in through the main doors about 1.20 p.m. He waited his turn in the queue, then handed a scrawled note to the No. 2 teller. Miss J. Verschuren. It read: “This is a hold-up. Be quiet, I’ve got a gun. Put your money in the bag.” Mr Whitta said he'crossed to the counter and asked whether the note was genuine. The man did not teply, but opened his sheepskin coat and pulled a pistol from his belt. “He pointed it at me, and pushed a duffel bag across the counter,” Mr Whitta said. The bag was filled with about $2OOO in notes, and the man walked calmly out of the post office. The two firemen who caught him had been on a routine trip to the Christchurch City Council pumping station in Colombo Street. ‘Very casual’ While their engine was stopped at traffic lights in Colombo Street, a man ran out of the post office and told them a robbery was in progress. “We radioed base and they alerted the police,” Mr Stewart said. Seconds later, a man carrying a duffel bag came out of the post office and walked off up Colombo Street. “He was very casual about it,” Mr Daikee said. He was only strolling along until

Neil shouted for him to stop, and then he took off.” The man sprinted off through the Sydenham School grounds, shedding a coat and sandals as he ran. He was chased through Brougham Street. Buchan Street, and Hawdon Street before Mr Stewart found him hiding behind a house in Maldon Street. No struggle “He didn’t say a word until just before we handed him over to the police. Then he asked if he could pick up his clothes,” said Mr Stewart. “There was no struggle, and I didn’t even know there was a gun involved.” The actions of the two firemen drew praise last evening from Detective Inspector N. J. Stokes. “They did a very impressive job,” he said. It was the second post office robbery in the area in seven months. On September 30 last year a 24-year-old man carrying a replica pistol robbed the nearby Spreydon Post Office of $BO7 in cash. He was later gaoled for three years and a half after being found guilty on a charge of robbery.