Couple bound and gagged by intruder

Press, 7 March 1983, Page 6

Couple bound and gagged by intruder

PA Auckland A married couple of Remuera spent a terrifying 2*2 hours bound and gagged early yesterday while an armed man roamed through their house, once firing a shot into the ceiling of their bedroom. The man left in one of the couple’s cars after saying he was a drug dealer who had been on the run for six months. Mr and Mrs Peter Gardner were awakened about 2.10 a.m. by a knock at their back door. Mr Gardner saw a figure in the dark. .“Before I saw the gun I thought it might have been one of my son’s friends,” said Mr Gardner. “Then I saw the gun and let out an involuntary yell or something and

he advanced and put the gun at my neck, and asked where the light was.” The intruder made both Mr and Mrs Gardner lie on the bedroom floor while he tied Mr Gardner up with the cord of his robe. The man made Mrs Gardner go into-the couple’s bedroom and hand over the keys to her Datsun car and $6O, all the cash in the house. Mrs Gardner offered the man her piggy bank, but he did not want it. The intruder tied Mrs Gardner face down on the bed, gagging and blindfolding her by using her husband’s ties. He returned to the bathroom and left Mr Gardner gagged, with his feet and hands tied. He then went through the house taking food, cigarettes, and some beer. Mrs Gardner’s jewellery, which was beside the bed,

was left untouched as was other property in the house. A B.M.W. car the couple had bought only on Saturday was left in the garage. When the shot was fired, Mr Gardner, who had managed to loosen his gag, asked what had happened, and the intruder replied it was an accident. “He was actually quite polite,” said Mrs Gardner. When the couple complained that their hands were tied too tightly, he retied their hands more comfortably and even offered Mrs Gardner a drink when she said her mouth was dry. After they heard the Datsun being driven away, Mr Gardner crawled down the hall to his wife who bad managed to free her fingers and she untied him. Police inquiries are continuing.