A young burglar is on a early-morning smash and grab rampage through Ellerslie, causing thousands of dollars of damage and so far the police have not been able to get to the scenes of his raids quick enough to catch him.
Do you recognize him in this photo? If you know who he is the Mount Wellington police would like to hear from you.
He has broken into the Ellerslie YMCA nine time in the last month! That’s annoying and expensive.
Chris Laing, recreation manager at the YMCA says, “He is apparently an Ellerslie local based around the Michael’s Avenue Reserve area. Please phone us on 579 4716 if you think you may know who he is. He moves around the community on a bicycle so keep your eyes out.”
Cathy Summers, Ellerslie Residents’ Association committee member said, “This is a smart guy. He’s well covered, wears gloves and leaves very little evidence to tie him to the crimes. He’s hit both schools about four times each and may have been interfering with cars. Three times he emptied the YMCA vending machines, and they had to be removed! He’s active between about 1am and 5am and moves around Ellerslie and up to Stanhope school area.”
She went on to say, “The police have been very involved and have a patrol car dedicated to the area each night and the dogs on standby. Their response to alarms is swift. But this guy knows to do a grab and run and with so many ways to exit he’s been slipping through.
“The security people at the schools and YMCA are in close contact and respond quickly to the alarms. There are police who are members at the gym and very determined to get this guy and be able to prove that it’s him who who has done all the break-ins.”