Armed robber takes $10,000

Press, 24 April 1986, Page 1

Armed robber takes $10,000

By

JEFF HAMPTON

A “well spoken” rifletoting robber made off with more than $lO,OOO 'after holding up the Darfield Post Office yesterday morning. The robber fled on a dark-coloured motor-cycle and was last seen riding north towards the Waimakarlri River. No-one was hurt in the hold-up, which occurred about 10.40 a.m. Detective Bob Kerr, of the Hornby C. 1.8., said last evening that the police were following several avenues of Inquiry into the robbery. He said that he was particularly interested in hearing from residents who might have seen the motor-cyclist in Kimberley Road, the Old West Coast Road, Michins Road, and the Wadding-ton-Waimakariri Gorge Road. The motor-cycle is described as possibly Japanese and 125 cu cm. Its rider wore blue overalls, a brown or black jacket, and a full-face white crash helmet with a dark visor. Detective Kerr declined to say what amount of money was taken other than it was “substantial” and in five figures. The hold-up was “pos-

sibly opportunist,” he said. It was definitely not linked with a burglary at the Darfield branch of the Bank of New Zealand last month. Yesterday’s robbery began when a man came through the main door of the bank carrying what was described as a cylin-der-shaped bag made of dirty white canvas. He wore overalls and a fullface crash helmet. One member of the public was in the bank and one teller was serving. The man took a fulllength, heavy-calibre rifle from the bag and pointed it at the teller, a woman, aged in her 40s, said Detective Kerr. He demanded money and jumped over the counter. He told the person in the bank and the teller to lie on the floor and took some cash from behind the counter. The postmaster came to the counter and the robber asked him where the safe was. The postmaster convinced him that the safe contained no money. At that stage, the robber told the postmaster and another teller to lie on the floor. He grabbed more money and leaped back over the

counter and ran from the bank. He is believed to have left the motor-cycle running outside. The post office workers were shaken but not hurt in the incident, said Detective Kerr. They described the robber as fairly well spoken and not particularly aggressive. A helicopter, a private aircraft, the police, and traffic officers started a search for the man soon after the hold-up was reported. The robber was later reportedly seen in the Michins Road area. The post office was closed to about 2 p.m. yesterday as detectives spoke to witnesses. A big burglary at the Bank of New Zealand at Darfield remains unsolved. The burglary, in which a “substantial sum of cash" was taken, was discovered on the morning of March 27. Burglars stole a heavy metal safe and left a mock wooden safe in its place. The replica of the stolen Chubb safe had the word “Chump” in place of the Chubb emblem and "crooked” painted at the bottom, like a signature.