Biscuits were a boy's undoing

Kaitaia police apprehended a 14-year-old local boy on Sunday morning, moments after he allegedly burgled Birdie's Cafe in the town's main street. The youngster claimed that he was simply out for a morning run, but the biscuits that were in his possession, and were traced back to the cafe, were his undoing.

Detective Sergeant Trevor Beatson said the boy was likely to face further charges as police continued their investigations into a spate of burglaries in the town. He appeared before the Youth Court in Kaitaia and was remanded in custody (to a Far North address), to appear again on July 1.

Detective Sergeant Beatson said Birdie's had been broken into three times in 12 days, the intruders using the same modus operandi each time - smashing a lower glass pane in the front door. The previous burglaries had seen the cash register, tip jar, a charity box and a vase of poinsettia taken.

The 14-year-old had been seen running from the cafe on Sunday, and was recognised by a police officer as wanted for breaching his bail. (He was already facing charges of burglary and theft ex car). He and been spoken to about the earlier burglaries, and as of yesterday police were not looking for anyone else.

The latest in the spate of burglaries also included two at Kaitaia Intermediate School (which has been targeted so regularly that money is no longer kept there, and drawers are left unlocked) in six days, and one at Kaitaia Abundant Life School.

Interior doors were kicked in at the intermediate school, after similar damage from the previous burglary had been repaired.

A window was forced at Bell's Produce in North Road in the early hours of Sunday morning, a little after intruders threw a rock through a window to get into Bubba's Baby Store in Commerce Street. They then climbed into the ceiling that linked the store with adjacent premises but were disturbed and left empty-handed.

Detective Sergeant Beatson said police had been working hard to locate their prime suspect, but without success until Sunday morning. The boy had been living at a number of addresses, not including his family home, where his bail conditions required him to be, and had been actively avoiding the police.

It was not clear yesterday whether he would be charged over an alleged attempt to steal a backpack from an interview room at the police station after he had been apprehended.

Birdie's proprietor Jenny Petera said she was pleased that someone had been charged, and while the repeated burglaries had left her questioning whether she wanted to stay in business she had been gratified by the support she had received, including offers of replacement cash registers from as far away as Whangarei.