Angry over an unpaid drug debt, a man decided smashing a car windscreen was his best course of action.
However, it also earned him a run-in with police.
It was one of several similar incidents in Dunedin in recent days.
Senior Sergeant Craig Dinnissen said a 24-year-old man smashed a car windscreen with a metal pole on Sunday.
The man told police the car’s owner owed him money for a drug debt.
In another incident, this time in Balmacewen Rd at 1am on Sunday, a 26-year-old man used his vehicle to ram another car twice in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
He also smashed its windscreen.
At 11.55pm on Friday, a man was charged with wilful damage after smashing a car window with his fist outside a pub.
The man ran off on foot, but was later located and arrested.
■A man who allegedly attempted to rob a Dunedin petrol station and led police on several chases around the city is facing various charges.
A 21-year-old Oamaru man was arrested after being found by police on Craigleith St, Dunedin, at 1.30am on Sunday.
Snr Sgt Dinnissen said the man was charged in relation to an attempted robbery at BP2Go on Princes St on July 22.
He allegedly entered the station about 9pm, armed with a weapon, and demanded cash.
He was foiled when a staff member deployed a fog cannon, causing the man to retreat to his vehicle and flee from the scene.
No cash was taken during the incident and no-one was harmed.
The man was also charged with a variety of driving offences after failing to stop for police, which included driving the wrong way in the one-way systems at Gowland and Malcolm Sts.
Court documents show that the man faces a charge of assault with intent to rob, two charges of theft (petrol), a charge of possession of prohibited ammunition, namely .22 and shotgun rounds, three charges of aggravated driving while disqualified, three charges of failing to stop for police, and three charges of reckless driving.
He was remanded in custody by consent yesterday, and will appear in the Dunedin District Court today.
■A man who tried to pawn his grandmother’s jewellery has been arrested.
A 26-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for theft after taking jewellery belonging to his grandmother and selling it to a pawn shop, Snr Sgt Dinnissen said.
He is due to appear in court on July 30.
