29 Oct 2014

Man in NRL shorts robs Hamilton bar

8:10 pm on 29 October 2014

A man wearing distinctive rugby league shorts is wanted by the police after an aggravated robbery of a central Hamilton bar overnight.

A police spokesperson said two men entered the Quadrant bar as it was closing about 10pm, taking cash from the bar's safe and tills. Two female bar staff were held in an office area.

The men fled and officers used a trail of coins to track them before losing them.

One offender, who was armed with a hammer, was described as being Maori or Pacific Islander, in his early 20s and wearing NRL shorts and a light-coloured, hooded sweatshirt. The other man, who had a knife, was described as a Pakeha or light-skinned Maori wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt.

Meanwhile, police were advising the public not to approach a man wanted by the police for breaches of release conditions.

Michael Douglas Edmonds, who also goes under the names of Herimiah Neho, Onyx Bayliss and Markus Strongman, is also wanted in connection with the theft of two cars, one of which was used in the robbery of a Hamilton TAB last month.

The 40-year-old was described as Maori, of medium to solid build and 177cm tall.

He was known to have contacts throughout Northland and Waikato, a police spokesperson said.