Police are not ruling out that three men involved in an armed robbery in the Bay of Plenty last month could have been linked to the murder of Paeroa pizza man Jordan Voudouris.

A 19-year-old unemployed man from Te Aroha was arrested yesterday and charged with two charges of assault with intent to rob and two charges of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Two other men had already been arrested in relation to the armed robbery on the morning of June 18.

Police allege the men robbed the Mobil Service Station in Waihi and the Park Road Dairy in Katikati within half and hour of each other.

Just a few hours earlier Voudouris was shot dead behind his popular Mykonos Pizza and Pasta takeaway, where he also lived.

Detective Sergeant Alan Kingsbury said a possible link was "something we are looking into".

"It's a possibility."

Police spokesman Andrew McAlley said there was nothing to definitively link the alleged two robberies with the homicide.

However, he said police were not ruling anything out.

"We're keeping an open mind."

The Te Aroha man arrested yesterday would appear in the Tauranga District Court today.

Two search warrants took place this week, which resulted in the arrest of the 19-year-old.

The warrants were conducted in Matahi Valley and on the outskirts of Whakatane.

Also arrested during the search warrants was a 17-year-old unemployed man from Rotorua, who has been charged with unlawful possession of an imitation firearm.

- © Fairfax NZ News