McDonald's hold-up arrests

The day before the McDonald's hold-up, a golf instructor was held up at gunpoint at Riverhead.Photo / Supplied

Tip-offs from the public have led to the arrest of two men over an armed hold-up in a McDonald's carpark where a pistol was held to the victim's neck.

And police have revealed the alleged offenders tried to elude officers by altering their getaway vehicle and destroying the weapon.

The two men, both 20, will appear in the North Shore District Court next week charged with assault with intent to rob on April 26.

They are also facing charges relating to petrol drive-offs and stealing number plates.

The pair allegedly stole petrol from the BP station at Silverdale, then drove to the Orewa McDonald's.

There, one of the accused allegedly got into a parked car in which a man was using an iPad and said: "That's a nice iPad", then pointed a pistol at the man's neck.

The victim managed to turn the pistol away so he could jump out of the car. The accused followed him and allegedly continued to point the gun at him from under his hoodie.

"I stated that it wasn't a real gun," the man said. "He asked how I knew this and I said, 'You would have shot me by now'."

The victim said the accused then ran off and got into a white Toyota Hiace van, allegedly driven by the other 20-year-old.

After last week's Herald story on the hold-up, several people contacted police with information.

"After a number of calls from the public in relation to media attention on the case, police were able to identify the [alleged] two main offenders," said Detective Nicholas Poland.

"A search warrant was executed at an address in the Rodney district and the vehicle used was located."

The vehicle had both the front and rear bull bars removed and the accused had removed the graphics on the side of the van.

Mr Poland said the pistol had been destroyed and it was likely someone would face a charge of being an accessory after the fact for disposing of evidence.

Rodney police are still investigating three other incidents in which pistols were pointed at victims, including a robbery at the same McDonald's on Monday night.

The previous week, a terrified golf instructor in Riverhead tried desperately to get his boss' attention over a security camera as he was being tied up by a man brandishing an older-style pistol.

On April 11, Riverhead's Hallertau bar was robbed by a man with a pistol. Police said the Riverhead incidents might be linked, but not the two at McDonald's.