Police have made a breakthrough in an investigation into a violent hotel robbery at Weston last year.
Hunter Valley Police District officers were called to the Criterion Hotel on Cessnock Road at about 12:15pm on Friday 30 September 2022, after reports of an armed robbery.
Officers were told two unknown males armed with machetes entered the business and confronted patrons before there was a physical altercation that left a 48-year-old male patron with a laceration to his arm from allegedly being swiped with the machete.
The armed men allegedly threatened staff and stole cash before fleeing the scene on foot along Station Street.
NSW Ambulance paramedics treated the injured man at the scene before taking him to the John Hunter Hospital where he underwent surgery.
The incident was referred to the State Crime Command’s Robbery and Serious Crime Squad by local police and is being investigated under Strike Force Rubus.
As part of those investigations, strike force detectives have released CCTV footage of the incident and an image of a vehicle of interest.
The males are depicted wearing dark-coloured clothing with their faces covered. The vehicle was seen in the area following the incident, and is described as being a small, dark-coloured hatchback.
Investigations under Strike Force Rubus are continuing.
