Police charge man after armed robbery in Valentine

A man has been charged following an alleged armed robbery in Lake Macquarie this morning.

About 7am (Wednesday 5 October 2022), a 46-year-old female attendant and a female customer were inside a service station on Macquarie Drive, Valentine, when a man entered the store.

Police will allege the man threatened the customer with a knife and demanded her wallet, before he threatened the attendant and fled the store in a Mitsubishi Outlander.

No one was injured during the incident.

Officers from Lake Macquarie Police District were notified and whilst responding, police sighted a Mitsubishi Outlander matching the description of the vehicle in James Street, Windale.

Police observed a man flee the vehicle before they engaged in a foot pursuit and arrested a 21-year-old man at a nearby home.

He was taken to Belmont Police Station and charged with two counts of robbery armed with an offensive weapon, assault with intent to rob armed with offensive weapon, be carried in conveyance taken without consent of owner, enter vehicle or boat without consent of owner/occupier, and two counts of larceny.

He was refused bail to appear at Toronto Local Court tomorrow (Thursday 6 October 2022).

Inquiries are continuing.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.

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