News briefs: Stolen ute used in robbery found, community hall burns

Police said two people went into Meadow Park dairy, one armed with a firearm. A firearm was presented at the owners and an unknown amount of cash and cigarettes were stolen.

The vehicle allegedly used during the aggravated robbery of a Whangārei dairy has been found by police dumped in a rural area.
The Meadow Park Dairy in Tikipunga was robbed by two people on Thursday about 6pm. Police said one was armed with a firearm. An unknown amount of cash and cigarettes were stolen. The 1999 Mazda Bounty ute, with registration number YK8043, was stolen from Opua on February 25. Police were quick to release a photo of the distinctive ute with silver ferns painted on each of the cab doors. The vehicle was found on Friday afternoon, at a rural property in Glenbervie, northeast of Whangārei.

Community hall blaze

Fire crews from Dargaville and Omapere battled a fire at a community hall in Donnelly's Crossing yesterday. A fire communications spokesman said crews were called to the blaze on Waoku Rd shortly after midnight. When they arrived the building was well alight. The spokesman said a fire investigator attended.

Three-hour police chase

A police chase that began on State Highway 1 was called off after offenders fled across farmland and were chased by a police dog.

The vehicle had continued on Maungakaramea Rd but was lost on O'Carroll Rd and later found on farmland. The occupants had run off across farmland and a police dog and handler tracked them to Tangihua Rd where the search was called off about 2pm, three hours after it began.

Cache of stolen tools found

Trailer loads of stolen items including tools and outdoor furniture discovered by police has been returned to owners. However, some gear including a set of drums are being held at Whangārei police station waiting to be claimed. Investigations are ongoing but it appeared thieves had been pretending to be tradies, going on to sites and stealing the equipment over 10 months around the wider Whangārei area. A 33-year-old man has appeared in Whangārei District Court on a charge of entering a building in Winger Cres, Kamo, without authority and with intent to commit a crime on December 19, 2019. If you think some of the property is yours please contact Constable Richard Soper at Whangārei police station or email him on richard.soper@police.govt.nz.

Powerball jackpots

A combined prize pool of $7.4m will be up for grabs in Wednesday night's Lotto draw after Powerball and Strike rolled over on Saturday.

The Powerball jackpot will be $6m and Lotto First Division will be $1 million on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Strike Four will be $400,000 on Wednesday.

The winning numbers were 7, 14, 20, 23, 26, 39, bonus ball 12, powerball 02.