Jewelz jewellery store owner throws cardboard boxes at masked thief in Whakatāne

By Whakatane Beacon

Jewelz staff were left terrified when a masked man entered The Strand store, yelling and smashing display cabinets.

It was all Whakatāne jewellery store owner Angelia Le Sueur could do to throw what she had – cardboard boxes – at the man before seeking refuge in the back room.

Security cameras inside the store captured the entire incident and the deafening sound of glass smashing from 4.40pm on Friday.

The balaclava-clad man, wearing over-ear headphones, smashed about four cabinets with part of a car jack in one hand.

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With the other hand, he shoved anything he could grab into a backpack.

Video taken from across the street shows him rifling through displays and dropping some of the stolen goods as he goes to load them into a car.

Stocktakes were still underway at Jewelz on Monday, but it appeared the man made off with watches and assorted jewellery.

“It was terrifying. It was very fast. It felt like it went on forever, but footage shows it was a really short amount of time,” Le Sueur said.

She described the aggravated robbery as “soul-destroying” and said the attack felt invasive for the Jewelz team.

It is not the first time Jewelz has been targeted by thieves since Le Sueur bought the shop in 2020.

In that time, the shop has been the target of two early-morning ram raids and even more attempted robberies.

Le Sueur said one attempt was made during Cyclone Gabrielle when the bulk of emergency services were busy protecting the community.

Damage to security glass indicated it might have been a tomahawk or a hatchet used then, she said.

Jewelz store on The Strand was cordoned off after an aggravated robbery.

Le Sueur considered it sad that crimes such as this happened in the community but she said it was not a reflection of the town as a whole.

In the aftermath, the community had shown huge amounts of support for the Jewelz team.

“The community support has been amazing.

“We’ve had hundreds of comments on Facebook; we’ve just been flooded.

“It has been phenomenal; the people coming in, hugs, a few tears, flowers, chocolate, wine, doughnuts, baking, coffee. The gestures have just been very humbling.”

Police have appealed for help from the public following the robbery.

Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Wilson said the offender fled the scene towards Commerce St in a stolen silver Nissan Tiida with the registration plate FHE988.

The car had been stolen from the Kakahoroa Drive public car park earlier that day. It was later found by police on Hurinui Avenue in Whakatāne.

Police working to identify the offender were following positive lines of inquiry following a scene examination, Wilson said.

He would like to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious in the car park prior to the robbery.

Police can be contacted by calling 105 and quoting job number P055561892.

Information can also be shared anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.