Two youths aged 15 years and 16 years, and a 41 year old man, have been arrested following an aggravated armed robbery at the Foodstop take-away shop in Elizabeth Street, Hobart.  At 1.26 am Tuesday 19 February 2013, it is alleged that one of the youths entered the shop armed with a knife and demanded money from a shop assistant.  The assistant handed over cash to the youth who ran to a stolen red Ford Laser sedan waiting outside.  The 41 year old man stood at the shop door while the second youth waited in the vehicle.

The vehicle was detected a short time later by a patrolling police car and roadspikes were deployed on the Tasman Highway near Dunalley.  The three occupants were arrested at the scene by uniformed police officers after the car’s tyres were deflated.  The stolen money was recovered by police in the car.

Detectives interviewed the two youths and man today.  All were detained to appear in court later today charged with motor vehicle stealing, stealing, aggravated armed robbery and evade police.

Detective Senior Sergeant Joel praised the store assistant for the way he handled the threat.  "The shop assistant complied with the youth’s demands and was able to provide an accurate description of the offenders."

"Uniformed police acted quickly to apprehend the armed offenders after using road-spikes to stop the car," he said.

The Youths will be dealt with under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act.