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An Auckland diamond robbery attempt was stopped by a shop owner with a baseball bat, but not before the thief could escape with tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry.
Dramatic security footage captured the moment Polished Diamonds owner operator Nick Nielsen confronted a thief at his Ponsonby store.
The man had gone through the front door and activated the alarm, before smashing a display case and filling a bag with jewels.
Chris McKeen / Stuff
Nick Nielsen used a baseball bat to scare away a thief who broke into his jewelry store.
He approached a second show unit before being chased by Nielsen, who landed “a couple of good hits” on the getaway car.
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Neilson smashed two windows before the vehicle sped down the busy Auckland highway.
The man got away, but only with “high-end prototypes”, not real diamonds.
SUPPLIED / Stuff
Polished Diamonds owner operator Nick Nielsen chases a diamond thief from his store with a bat.
Police were investigating, but no arrests had yet been made.
Neilsen lives on site and heard the intruder downstairs just before 4 a.m. M.
“Living on Ponsonby Rd, you become familiar with noise, so I knew right away that this was not it and that we had to act,” he said.
“My partner called the police, I took the bat and went down the stairs.”
Chris McKeen / Stuff
Neilsen smashed two of the car’s windows before it accelerated.
“At the moment, it’s pure adrenaline. But when I came face to face with him, I paused. I think deep down he didn’t want to hit anyone, of course not.
“No amount of jewelry is worth seriously hurting someone, or worse.
“But at the same time I am a small business owner and will defend my property so I kicked the guy out and yeah I hit the car a little bit before it took off.”
Police arrived at the scene quickly and an examination of the scene was carried out.
Chris McKeen / Stuff
Neilsen said that smash and grab thefts were becoming more and more common, after COVID-19.
Nielsen’s company makes its custom jewelry off-site, and the Ponsonby store is more of a prototype showroom.
Still, the monetary value of the stolen jewelry was “tens of thousands,” he said.
“This is the first time something like this has happened here, but it is a jewelry store, so I knew it was a question of if, not when,” he said.
“At the end of the day I understand, these uncertain times have been difficult for everyone.
Chris McKeen / Stuff
The shop door and the display case were damaged in the robbery.
“But I’m a small business owner myself, and he takes food off my plate when things like this happen.”
Nielsen said that although Wednesday’s incident was his first, these types of smash and grab thefts had become more common on Auckland’s busy Central Street since Covid-19 hit.
His company was working with the police to try to trace the stolen goods and was even offering a reward for the information.
“If anyone has any information leading to prosecution in connection with this, we will put on a pair of diamond earrings.”
