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Four men have been arrested following a terrifying armed robbery of a Far North electronics store earlier this month - but police are still hunting for two more.
A Bay of Islands man told RNZ he was at Noel Leeming in Waipapa on 4 August with his wife and mother when a group of men entered the store, ordered them to the ground and fired a shot over their heads.
The offenders allegedly then smashed display cabinets, assaulted a staff member, and fled with stolen items.
The man, who did not want to be named, said at first he thought it was a bad-taste prank when the men entered the store shouting and brandishing an axe and a long-barrelled rifle.
He said his family had coped well at the time, his elderly mother included, but they had all woken during the night with visions of a balaclava-clad man standing over them with a gun.
Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Fouhy, of Northland police, said a group of offenders had entered the store armed with weapons, threatening staff and customers.
One staff member was assaulted but thankfully no one had been seriously injured.
On Tuesday morning, Mid North CIB executed simultaneous search warrants in the Wainui Valley area, north of Matauri Bay, and arrested four men.
Fouhy said three, aged 16, 20 and 23, had been charged with aggravated robbery, and a 37-year-old had been charged with receiving stolen property.
Pomepy Geros, 23, and Bruce Tautari, 20, were remanded in custody when they appeared in the Kaikohe District Court on Wednesday morning charged with aggravated robbery using a firearm. They are due back in court by audio-visual link for a bail hearing on 2 September.
The 16-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, was also charged with aggravated robbery using a firearm and is due back in the Kaikohe Youth Court on the same date.
According to court documents, police allege the trio took cellphones, electronics and cash worth a total of $15,231.
Kim Kopa, 38, is charged with receiving cellphones and a CCTV system worth $14,217. He was also remanded in custody and is due back in court on 2 September for a bail hearing.
Police are still looking for the getaway car. Photo: Supplied / NZ police
Fouhy said, however, the public's help was still needed because two people involved in the robbery had yet to be identified and police were still looking for the getaway vehicle.
The vehicle was a black Mazda saloon, registration FDD437.
"This was a distressing incident for the victims, and we are committed to holding all those involved to account," he said.
He urged anyone with information that could help the investigation to call 105, quoting file number 240804/3523.
Information could also be passed anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
