On the Beat
It has been another productive and busy week for Te Kuiti and wider King Country police, with several arrests made and ongoing investigations into local offending.
Chris Aspin
We are investigating several reports of dishonesty-related offending in the area, including shoplifting incidents and petrol drive-offs.
Police located a stolen vehicle in Te Kuiti – vehicle has been towed for forensic examination.
Following a vehicle crash last week, police charged a 55-year-old male with driving with excess blood alcohol concentration. His licence has been suspended, and this serves as a timely reminder to plan ahead and make safe decisions around alcohol, especially regarding transport.
Staff located and arrested a 30-year-old male in Ōtorohanga for breaching his bail.
A 54-year-old male who had an active warrant for failing to appear in court on burglary-related charges was located and arrested in Te Kuiti. He was transported to Hamilton without incident.
A 22-year-old male has been charged with “speaks threateningly”, intentional damage, and sustained loss of traction. These matters will now progress through the court process.
Police have also charged a 27-year-old male following a wilful trespass incident.
In Ōtorohanga, police sighted a 32-year-old male with an active warrant to arrest. After being informed he was under arrest, the male attempted to flee on foot. He was pursued and apprehended without further incident and now faces an additional charge of escaping police custody.
A 35-year-old male was located in Te Kuiti with a warrant to arrest relating to an incident from another district. He was transported to Hamilton and charged with contravening a protection order.
Following the recent rain and rapidly changing weather conditions, staff attended several road blockages where fallen trees had disrupted the flow of traffic. It was greatly appreciated to see local farmers taking initiative and assisting with clearing the roads.
In some areas – particularly along State Highway 4 – this helped ease significant backlogs of traffic.
As always, we encourage our community to continue reporting any suspicious behaviour or offences as soon as possible.
