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A QUEENSTOWN bar owner faces an assault charge after allegedly throwing a rock at a gardener.
The licensee, 55, saw red after coming out of a house on Malaghan Street to complain about a noisy weed eater.
Senior constable Sean Drader says: “The gardener ignored him and turned away to carry on with his weed eating.
“This guy allegedly then threw a rock, hitting him on the back of the leg.”
The incident happened shortly after 6pm last Friday.
The victim was left with a red mark on the back of his leg. The bar owner has been charged with assaulting someone with a blunt instrument.
Drunken downtown rampage
Three men were arrested after a drunken rampage through Queenstown last Thursday afternoon.
Police were called after the men allegedly threw bottles at a taxi and a kebab shop before stealing bicycles.
“They had been refused service at Winnies because they were intoxicated,” Drader says.
“They then threw bottles at the Turkish kebab shop on The Mall and stole some bicycles parked outside Surreal bar.”
The bicycles were abandoned on Beach St after the incident, at 1.55pm.
A 36-year-old Queenstown draughtsman and a 33-year-old fisheries worker, of Lake Hayes, were charged with disorderly behaviour and unlawfully taking a bicycle. A 38-year-old boiler maker from Australia was arrested but received diversion.
Trouble in town
A Christchurch man, 18, has been charged with escaping custody after jumping out of a police car.
The teen had been arrested for disorderly behaviour after trying to break a window near Altitude Bar at about midnight last Wednesday.
He was cuffed but before officers could process him they stopped to break up a large fight.
“He jumped out of the police car and ran away up Brecon St,” Drader says.
“So he also got charged with escaping custody when they grabbed him again.”
Several other arrests were made for late night offences.
A 19-year-old, from Lumsden, was arrested after having a blazing row outside the police station at 1am on Tuesday.
An Australian woman, 21, was arrested after punching a bouncer in the back of the head at Boiler Room, at 2.20am on Christmas Eve. She received diversion.
And an Englishman, 28, was charged with assaulting someone with a blunt instrument after hitting his friend across the face with a glass in Winnies at 12.30am on Christmas Eve.
Drink and drive blitz
Police are reminding drivers they will be out in force as usual over the New Year period.
Officers made six arrests over Christmas on Queenstown roads.
“There will be teams working here specifically over the New Year break,” Drader says.
“But they’re always operating in different places around Queenstown. We make no secret about it; we do it all the time.
“If you’ve lived in town for any length of time, you’ll realise it’s a poor choice to drive if you’ve had anything to drink.”
A French chef, 27, was arrested on Wynyard Crescent at 3.30am on Christmas Day after he blew 587 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 400mcg.
An Italian driver, 24, was stopped on Gorge Road at 4.30am last Friday and arrested after he blew 598mcg.
A 20-year-old Dunedin woman blew 544mcg on Lake Esplanade at 3.35am on the same day.
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