SAPS arrests suspect after stolen vehicle chase and gun standoff

The Brakpan SAPS Crime Prevention Unit received a call from a tracking company seeking help with a stolen vehicle from Springs, tracked to a residential address on 12th Road, Withok Estates, on November 10.

The members responded and went to the given location. Upon arrival at the plots in Withok, they unnoticed the described vehicle in motion.

They followed the vehicle, and it suddenly stopped. The driver exited and started running, so constables Ashley Korasie and Elvin Davis pursued him.

They called for him to stop, and when cornered near a fence, the driver turned and drew his firearm, pointing it at the members, who fired a warning shot, but the driver did not surrender.

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The members fired a second shot, hitting the man in the leg, after which they apprehended him. Investigations revealed that the firearm was a replica, and the suspect, a 56-year-old, was arrested and hospitalised under police guard.

He faces charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, a red Mazda 323 Sting, and aiming an object resembling a firearm at a person.

Colonel Eugene Scheepers, the interim station commander for the Brakpan SAPS, thanked the Crime Prevention members for a job well done.

“This will send a clear message to the criminals in our jurisdiction that law enforcement will stop at nothing in ensuring the safety and security of our community,” he said.

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