Serious charges have been laid against two men accused of robbing and shooting a 55-year-old at Karuah this week.
Organised crime detectives from the Newcastle-based Raptor Squad North assisted by officers from the Tactical Operations Unit swooped on the pair in separate arrests yesterday afternoon.
A 40-year-old man was taken to hospital under police guard with minor injuries, after he was nabbed in a car on Ada Street at Belmont about 12.55pm allegedly with a knife in his possession.
The second man – aged 59 – was arrested around 2.10pm in a raid of a Terence Avenue home at Lake Munmorah, where officers say they uncovered several items of interest to their investigation into the shooting.
Those items will undergo further forensic examination.
It will be alleged in court that the duo stole a Rolex watch from a man at a Bundabah Street address at about 6.40pm on Wednesday night, shooting a 55-year-old man who was later rushed to hospital by paramedics in a serious but stable condition.
Officers attached to Port Stephens Hunter Police District commenced the initial investigation into the incident before it was referred to State Crime Command’s Raptor Squad North.
The two accused are charged with robbery in company causing grievous bodily harm. The younger is also up on offences relating to possession of a pistol and a knife.
Both were refused bail and are due to appear in Belmont Local Court today.