A 16-year-old youth has been arrested for the robbery of a Tokoroa home last week, in which a woman was threatened with a spade and her 12-year-old grandson forced to empty his moneybox.
Detective Sergeant Greg Standen, of Tokoroa police, said a Tokoroa youth was arrested last night and appeared in court today charged with aggravated robbery.
"We're still working through the issues of his custody with Child, Youth and Family," he said.
Police were not searching for anyone else in connection with the robbery at this stage, but "the case isn't closed", he said.
Last Tuesday, a male wielding a spade walked into the Aotea St house about 6.30pm and threatened to kill the boy's grandmother if he did not hand over cash immediately.
The boy emptied his moneybox and gave the contents of $111 to the man who fled.
Mr Standen said the youth was caught as the result of a public "tip off".
"The public response to the whole incident was overwhelming actually," he said.
"We're still dealing with quite a few donations that came in for the victims, including cash and computer games from as far away as Hokitika."
- NZPA
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