Napier Police have collared a sticky-fingered thief after the knife-point robbery of a coffee shop’s tip jar.

About 1.30pm on Monday 30 September a young man entered a Bridge Street cafe, pulled a knife on a staff member and escaped on foot with a glass jar full of tip money.

The suspect fled west on Barry Street with four other young people, followed at a distance by some of the café’s customers.

When police arrived at the scene shortly after, customers and staff gave a very detailed description of the offender and others.

Meanwhile, other staff surrounded the area near Waghorne Street, Ahuriri, where the offender was spotted with his four counterparts.

The young people scattered when they saw Police, however two were caught swiftly at the bottom of Shakespeare Road by staff on foot.

A further three people were seen jumping fences by Kenny Avenue, however with good communication and observations by police, those two were caught on Kenny Avenue.

Police ran after the last outstanding person as he fled through the railyard, before finding him at the Ahuriri bypass.

All were aged between 13 and 16-years-old.

One of the youths was arrested for possession of a knife and another was arrested for breaching bail conditions.

The rest of the young people were taken home, but all have been referred to Youth Aid Services.

Unfortunately, the tip jar has not yet been recovered.

Prevention Manager, Senior Sergeant Su Robinson says “Although we’ve not yet found the stolen property, this was great work by our frontline staff. They arrived quickly, received a detailed account of what the offender looked like and where he and his friends ran to - thanks to the witnesses.

Police were able to bring the offenders back to the Police station to be dealt with, all in the space of approximately 20 minutes.

This is a timely reminder for members of the public to keep themselves safe. The shop staff and public kept their distance and Police were able to handle this very quickly because the customers called 111 while the offending was under way.

Alternatively, if you have information after an offence has occurred, please update us online on 105 or call 105.

People can also contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 with any information about a case.

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