Hoax bank bomber sentenced

The man responsible for placing a bomb at a busy Manukau bank has been sentenced to more than six years in prison.

Clive McKay, 47 years old from Tuakau, pleaded guilty to the aggravated robbery of BNZ Ronwood Ave. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of cultivating cannabis. McKay entered the bank at around 10:30am on Friday 24 January, demanded cash and left what he claimed to be an explosive device, threatening to detonate it remotely. There were a number of people in the bank at the time.

Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Ellwood says the indicent was very traumatic for the victims and the public response to the appeal for information about the offender was outstanding.

“Following the incident we had a fantastic public response and were able to quickly collate nominated suspects and work toward ensuring the offender was held accountable for this very public crime.”

McKay was arrested on 7 February when a search warrant was executed on his home in Tuakau following numerous nominations for him as a suspect. As a result of this search warrant he was also charged with cultivating cannabis.

The Counties Manukau Police Facebook page had nearly 50,000 views of CCTV footage taken from inside a taxi as McKay fled the scene and as a result several suspect nominations were received from the public.

“Numerous people who know McKay nominated him as a suspect and were clearly disturbed by his offending,” says Detective Senior Sergeant Ellwood.

The guilty plea reflects the overwhelming evidence Police gathered and the sentence today sends the clear message that violent offending will not be tolerated.

“I'd like to thank the public for their assistance in this case and also acknowledge the hard work of the team of detectives who worked on the case.”

ENDS

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