A 17-year-old has been arrested and charged over two "home invasions" where he allegedly burgled two Whangarei homes while the owners were asleep.
Whangarei police have become concerned over recent weeks about burglaries carried out while the occupants were asleep. They worried they could descend into violence if the homeowners caught
the thieves in the act.
In the first case on November 3, a 10-year-old girl disturbed two burglars in her living room when she went to get a drink about 11.45pm at her her Kensington home. A 15-year-old boy was arrested shortly afterwards.
In the second burglary a Whangarei mother-of-three was left terrified when burglars invaded her Kensington home about 1am on Monday.
Thieves forced their way into the home as she, her partner and three children slept, rifling through the family's possessionsand making off with a number of items including wallets, a greenstone carving, a camera, a baby bag full of clothing and the key to their $22,000 vehicle.
In the third case, a 94-year-old woman awoke in her Kensington home on Monday morning to find that she had been burgled and a large quantity of meat had been stolen from her freezer.
Whangarei police Senior Sergeant Rob Huys said a 17-year-old was arrested yesterday and charged with the last two burglaries and was held in custody to appear in Whangarei District Court today.
Mr Huys said there was no evidence to link the man with the first burglary and inquiries were continuing into that crime.
He said the elderly woman was relieved when told of the arrest.
Mr Huys said burglaries committed while the occupants were at home had the added danger of turning nasty if the thief was disturbed.
"There's always the potential for things to escalate if people are disturbed while committing offences."
