Friday, 17 January 2020

$10k reward to recover pawn shop's stolen jewellery

    By Sophie Cornish
    1. Canterbury
    2. Christchurch

    The owner of The Pawn Shop which was hit in an aggravated robbery this week is offering a $10,000...
    The owner of The Pawn Shop which was hit in an aggravated robbery this week is offering a $10,000 reward for the recovery of this stolen jewellery. Photo: Supplied

    The owner of a Christchurch pawn shop hit in an aggravated robbery on Monday is offering a $10,000 reward for the recovery of stolen jewellery.

    Two masked offenders brandishing a hammer and metal pole stole more than $40,000 in jewellery from the The Pawn Shop on Blenheim Rd.

    The store's owner Gary Boote is now offering a $10,000 reward for the recovery of the stolen items, which includes diamond rings and a diamond bracelet valued at about $40,000.

    CCTV footage of the incident showed the offenders smashing cabinets before loading the jewellery into bags.

    Masked offenders stole more than $40,000 in jewellery from the Pawn Shop on Blenheim Rd. Photo: CCTV
    Masked offenders stole more than $40,000 in jewellery from the Pawn Shop on Blenheim Rd. Photo: CCTV
    A third offender drove the getaway car, a black Mazda Atenza, but crashed it about 300m away on Blenheim Rd at the intersection of Hansons Lane. The three offenders then fled the crash scene.

    Mr Boote posted images of the offenders on Facebook: "Check out the three robbers," he wrote. 

    The offenders fled the scene in a car but crashed a short time later. Photo: CCTV
    The offenders fled the scene in a car but crashed a short time later. Photo: CCTV
    "One has a yellow shirt under the robber clothes. 

    "The guy with white socks is the driver.

    "He crashed the stolen getaway car into a post and they all ran away.

    "Someone must recognise these people. Please share."

    One of the masked offenders who stole more than $40,000 in jewellery from The Pawn Shop. Photo: CCTV
    One of the masked offenders who stole more than $40,000 in jewellery from The Pawn Shop. Photo: CCTV

    While no staff members were hurt in the incident, they were shaken.

    “They were pretty rattled,” a store manager said following the incident.