Alleged pawn shop jewellery robber arrested

A man who police believe drove and crashed a stolen getaway car in the robbery of pawn shop jewellery has been arrested after police raided his home.

Jake William Bannister, 28, has been charged with robbing The Pawn Shop on Blenheim Rd with a hammer on January 13.

• $10k reward to recover pawn shop's stolen jewellery
• Hammer and baseball bat allegedly used in pawn shop robbery

He has also been charged with stealing a black Mazda Atenza and driving it dangerously on Blenheim Rd.

Two other offenders are still outstanding, Detective Sergeant Brad Greenstreet said, and the store’s owner Gary Boote believes more than $40,000 in jewellery was stolen.

Mr Boote posted a $10,000 cash reward two days after the incident for any information leading to the recovery of the stolen jewellery, which he said included many expensive diamond rings and a diamond bracelet valued at $40,000.

On January 13, two masked offenders entered the store armed with a metal pole and a hammer and smashed cabinets before loading the jewellery into bags.

A third offender believed to be Bannister drove the getaway car, but crashed it about 300m away into a traffic light pole on Blenheim Rd at the intersection of Hansons Lane.

The three offenders then fled the crash scene.

During a raid of Bannister’s Armagh St home in Linwood on Tuesday, an illegal cut-down 10-gauge shotgun was discovered along with 11 rounds of shotgun ammunition.

A woman, Misty Richardson, has also been charged in relation to the illegal firearm.

The Pawn Shop declined to comment on the charges relating to the robbery.

Bannister is next expected to appear in the Christchurch District Court on March 30.