Wairarapa digger ram raid leaves cafe owner frustrated as no charges laid

Bruce Sullivan outside Kitchener's Cafe in Martinborough, Wairarapa. Photo / RNZ

• A digger ram raid damaged Kitchener’s Cafe in Martinborough, but no charges have been laid.
• Building owner Bruce Sullivan says the community believes they know the culprit, but evidence is lacking.
• Police continue to appeal for information, while ongoing repairs disrupt local businesses and carparks.

By Mary Argue of RNZ

A Wairarapa man whose building was damaged in a ram raid with a digger says the destruction still causes grief and he worries the culprit will get away with it.

Shortly before midnight on Friday, November 15, bar patrons around Martinborough’s square were ushered inside after witnessing the digger smash into Kitchener’s Cafe in Kitchener St in an attempt to break into an ATM.

Five months later, no charges have been laid and police continue to appeal for information.

Building owner Bruce Sullivan told RNZ he understood the digger was stolen from a local firm and driven around town before hitting the cafe.

“All the patrons of the bar, they saw him come round the corner and just smash into the building and then trying to get the ATM.”

Sullivan said everyone in the community believed they knew the man behind the wheel, but the case had stalled.

“There’s not enough proof to show it was him,” he said.

“The person was all hooded up and gloved and had a mask on. They’ve [the police] have told us now that they don’t have enough to take it to court, so basically, they’ll just get away with it.”

The aftermath of a digger attack on Kitchener's Cafe in Martinborough. Photo / RNZ

Sullivan felt sorry for the family of the person he believed was responsible, maintaining no one was to blame except the digger driver.

“The community knows who it is and I’m sure he’s had a few things said in his ear.”

A police spokesperson told RNZ officers had spoken to several people and urged anyone with information to get in touch.

“Police continue to appeal for information about the ram raid in Martinborough in November last year.

“Martinborough is a small place and we’re confident someone will have information about this incident and the people involved.”

Building repairs to continue for months

Sullivan said even though Kitchener’s Cafe had continued to trade, ongoing repairs were a major disruption and went beyond only the cafe.

“I’m just gutted that it’s caused so much grief for the rest of the business community, with the loss of the car parks and disruption to their business.”

He said daily traffic management was required for the construction, knocking out “about 20 car parks” at the entrance to the town.

Despite finding “more and more stuff wrong” with the building every day, he couldn’t fault the builders or the insurance companies and was grateful for the support the cafe had received from the community.

“We’ve been very, very lucky that we’ve got a loyal customer base. The community has been great in supporting us and I can’t say how much we appreciate it, because the place does look like an absolute mess.”

Sullivan said construction would probably continue for the next couple of months.

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