Zarraffa’s director lashes out after Ormeau store armed robbery

THE boss of Gold Coast coffee empire Zarraffa’s has demanded the courts thrown the book at the axe-wielding man who robbed one of his shops and made off with a cash register.

ONE of the city’s most successful entrepreneurs says the justice system needs to get tougher on armed robbers to ensure the safety of all staff.

Zarraffa’s managing director Kenton Campbell lashed out at the soft stance on crime after one of his stores was robbed at the weekend.

Two employees at Ormeau were confronted by a masked offender at 5.30am Sunday.

The man, wearing a yellow and navy high-vis long-sleeved shirt and dark shorts, used an axe to cut through the cords of two registers before taking one and demanding a sum of cash from a female employee.

Zarraffa’s Coffee CEO and founder Kenton Campbell. Pic Jono Searle.

The man left the business in a dark VE Commodore Omega with distinct mag wheels, and is described as being caucasian in appearance, about 178cm tall with a solid build and facial hair.

“This is a serious issue for law makers,” Mr Campbell said yesterday.

“This is not a petty crime and the burden is on the judicial system to ensure a punishment that far outweighs 99 per cent of these criminals taking this kind of action in the future.

“Our staff welfare is paramount and we are relieved that in this instance no one was harmed physically.”

POLICE INVESTIGATING AXE-WIELDING BANDIT

The man making off with the til Photo supplied

Coomera MP Michael Crandon said “police are under a great deal of pressure” and more officers were needed in the northern Gold Coast.

“By all accounts, police were very, very quick responding which was wonderful.

“We have 57 police officers, but really need 107 in the Coomera area to keep up with the population growth.

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“We can take about the judiciary system and penalty all we like, but if we don’t have enough police to be able to bring down the level of crime to catch the perpetrators, and to properly investigate these crimes, then we’re not even going to get them to the courthouse.

CCTV footage of the man taking the register from Zarraffa's Ormeau. Photo supplied

“We have had in the past five years, an increase in schoolchildren numbers from 10,200 to 15,300. That’s the sort of growth we’re dealing with. In the same period of time, we’ve had an increase of two police officers. That’s the sort of numbers we’re dealing with.

“What happened is extremely disappointing. It’s a terrible indictment on what’s happening in the wider community.”