Suspects in medal theft in court, charge unrelated | NATIONAL | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz Two of the men believed to be key suspects in the Waiouru war medals theft have appeared in court on unrelated fraud and burglary charges. One man is facing 40 charges including allegations he stole the identity of a top crown prosecutor. The other man is charged with a dozen burglary and fraud offences. Court orders prevent ONE News from revealing the men's identities. One of the alleged victims in the case is leading crown prosecutor Bruce Northwood who is expected to be a key witness in the case. Mary Kennedy, the lawyer for one of the accused, has been replaced with Jesse Soondram who is acting on instructions from Chris Comeskey, the lawyer who negotiated the return of the stolen war medals and the $300,000 reward. The two accused will be back in court in April. The medals, worth several million dollars, were taken from the Waiouru Army Museum in a daring smash and grab raid early on Sunday, December 2. Among the haul the thieves took nine Victoria Crosses - including Charles Upham's Victoria Cross and bar for extraordinary bravery in combat in World War II - two George Cross medals and one Albert medal. The $300,000 reward money was offered by British medal collector Lord Ashcroft and former US marine and Vietnam veteran Tom Sturgess.
