By ANNA USHER

Two real estate agents have been charged over an alleged brawl with rival agents on the streets of St Leonards, one of four cases that kept North Sydney police busy through July.

Police will allege a 35-year-old agent from North Sydney and a 37-year-old agent from Northbridge turned on a group of rival agents on 9 July.

It is alleged the North Sydney man first approached one of the victims as he worked and struck him with his right elbow. The victim kept working.
Police will allege the man returned a short time later with the Northbridge agent and pushed the victim several times.

A colleague of the victim stepped in and told both men to stop. Police allege the pair then shoulder-barged him, and when he slapped the North Sydney man back in self-defence, the two agents threw him to the ground and assaulted him while he was down.

Members of the public pulled the men apart before police arrived. Both were arrested and taken to Chatswood police station.

The pair were each charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company. The North Sydney man was also charged with two counts of common assault. Both are due before Hornsby Local Court in August.

Teens caught out by a train photo

Two Neutral Bay boys, aged 14 and 15, have been charged after an alleged smash-and-grab at a closed Crows Nest store.
Police will allege the pair approached the shop about 6.45pm on 10 July, and the 15-year-old repeatedly kicked the glass front door until it shattered. Both allegedly went inside, grabbed merchandise and ran.

They did not get far. A member of the public handed police a photo of the two boys holding the allegedly stolen goods on a Sydney Metro train.

Police used the image to identify them and went to the 14-year-old’s home, where his mother let them in. Both boys were arrested and charged with aggravated break and enter in company. They are due before Surry Hills Children’s Court in August.

Painted plates on Miller Street

A 34-year-old man has been charged after police stopped him on Miller Street, North Sydney, about 2.50am on 8 July over a set of altered number plates.

Police will allege the man told them he had bought the car with the plate problem and “painted it white to fix it”. Officers allege he was on bail with a night-time curfew and a condition not to take non-prescribed drugs, and that he admitted smoking cannabis earlier that morning.

Police allege they found cannabis and a grinder in the car, and a roadside drug test returned a positive result. He was charged with breaching bail and dealt with by the Local Court’s bail division. Drug charges are pending.

Artarmon intruder handed 9-month order

A 37-year-old man has been sentenced after he was caught inside an Artarmon home loading items into a suitcase.
Police were called to the house about 11.40pm on 21 July. They will allege the man claimed the owner’s family had given him permission to be there, but the family confirmed he had none.

The man ran off while police tried to arrange care for his dog, but was arrested and taken to Chatswood. He faced Hornsby Local Court the next day and was handed a nine-month intensive correction order, a custodial sentence served in the community under supervision.