Police want to find a man who tampered with gas canisters in Queenstown’s Subway restaurant and then broke a window.
Senior constable Sean Drader says police are keen to talk to this man (left) who was caught on CCTV cameras at midnight on Sunday.
“An idiot opened the taps on the CO2 canisters at the back and then ran out of the shop,” Drader says.
“He slammed the door behind him so hard it broke the glass.
“It’s quite bizarre behaviour.”
The carbon dioxide canisters are believed to be used to put the fizz in soft drinks.
A cheeky barman allegedly snuck into a pub where he used to work and spent the night guzzling beers.
The Irish worker, 24, is accused of entering the Arrowtown pub after it had closed up, last Wednesday morning.
He allegedly spent about four hours, from 1am to 5am, drinking.
Senior constable Sean Drader says: “When the owners opened up the next morning they found empty beer bottles and glasses.
“He had worked there until a week ago and it seems he still had a key.”
The man has been charged with theft.
Stolen car
A red Honda Accord was stolen from a backyard in Frankton’s Douglas Street, near Lakes District Hospital, on Sunday.
The 1980 car, rego JH1586, is still missing.
“It appears they’ve pushed it to the road in the middle of the night without starting it and hit a parked car, scraping along its side,” Drader says.
“You don’t get many cars stolen around here compared to other places, but it does happen.
“With the warmer weather, the number of thefts from cars goes up. Everyone needs to lock their vehicles and remove valuables.”
Christmas tree theft
A thief stole a Christmas tree and left pools of faeces and vomit in its place.
The artificial tree, worth about $100, was taken from outside the Blue Moon shop in Arrowtown on Monday night.
“It’s similar to a couple of other acts of vandalism in recent months in Arrowtown,” Drader says.
“It upsets people. If you know someone who has come home with a Christmas tree and possibly a hangover, contact us.”
Taxi driver helps police
Officers arrested an Irish motorist after a taxi driver reported his erratic driving.
The 25-year-old farm worker was stopped on Kawarau Road, near Queenstown Airport, at 3.50am on Sunday.
He was given a breath test and blew 652 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 400 micrograms.
The driver said he was about to drive all the way to Winton.
“Some taxi drivers are really good and report incidents to us when they see them,” Drader says.
“It’s very civic minded and valuable to us. We’d like to thank them and encourage it.”
Police also stopped a Welsh man driving a courier van along Man St at 4.35am on Friday. He blew 910 – more than double the limit. Both were charged with driving with excess breath alcohol.
Search and rescue
A 20-year-old walker was airlifted out of Beans Burn, near Glenorchy, by a search and rescue team after suffering hypothermia.
The woman was part of a tramping party from Otago Polytechnic. She was taken to Lakes District Hospital shortly after 8pm on Thursday.
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