Woman charged with aiding armed robber
The partner of a man who has admitted the armed robbery of a Redwood bar has now been charged with hiding evidence to help the man avoid arrest.
Nikita Chela McCausland, 25, of Central Christchurch, faced the new charge at a remand appearance in the Christchurch District Court yesterday.
Judge Raoul Neave granted the police leave to withdraw a charge against McCausland of receiving $3500 cash from the man who has admitted the robbery, Jackson Manson, when she knew the money had been stolen.
That charge has been replaced with suppressing evidence to enable Manson to avoid arrest when she knew he had been a party to the robbery.
Two armed men burst into the Coasters Bar in Redwood on the night of January 26 and got away with about $15,000 in cash.
Manson has also been charged with assaulting a patron during a second armed robbery – also by two men – of The Brewery bar at the Tannery in Woolston later the same night. At that robbery, the robbers could not get the bar’s safe open and left empty-handed.
Manson denies this charge and the case will go to trial.
McCausland and Manson both deny a joint charge of unlawful possession of a shotgun and that will also go to trial.
Both of them remain in custody. At yesterday’s hearing, McCausland was further remanded to a case review hearing on May 19 which may settle trial arrangements.
The second man involved has never been identified.
Category: Focus
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