Police investigating ram raids on two petrol stations at Lake Macquarie earlier this year have charged fourth person in relation to the incident, who was expected to face court in Cessnock on Wednesday.
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Detectives had already charged three men, aged 18, 23 and 25, after cars were used to used to force entry into petrol stations at Wyee and Fennell Bay in March, where cash and cigarettes were stolen. Unsuccessful attempts were also made to remove an ATM, police said.
Later, in July, detectives said they had uncovered new information in the course of their investigation which led to the arrest of a 20-year-old woman at Cessnock Police Station.
Police alleged the woman drove a stolen Audi Q5 following a robbery at a Cessnock home, where an 83-year-old man was assaulted. The Audi was later found destroyed by fire at Bellbird Heights.
The woman was charged with stealing a motor vehicle, aggravated robbery, driving a motor vehicle during a disqualification period and destroying property in company.
She appeared at Cessnock Local Court in July and was granted strict conditional bail to reappear to appear in court on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Strike Force Emirs was established by the State Crime Command's Robbery and Serious Crime Squad to investigate the ram raids, and those investigations are ongoing.
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Simon McCarthy
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
