A BLUE Security armed reaction officer had a lucky escape after trespassers fleeing a property attacked him in a failed attempt to evade arrest.
Blue Security operations manager Brian Jackson said the officer had responded to the scene of a trespassing incident in Tarndale Road in Asherville at 2.44pm.
“When our officer arrived at the scene he chased two suspects who were seen fence hopping. They jumped over the back fence into the neighbours' garden but our officer chased them. The men tried to attack him with steel poles but our officer did not give up and managed to arrest one of the suspects in Brickfield Road. The suspect was handed over to the police who attended the scene,” he said.
Jackson said in several separate armed robberies, suspects armed with weapons ranging from guns to scissors held up residents on their properties and fled with valuables ranging from cellphones and cash to televisions.
Blue Security officers also arrested a trespasser in Exmouth Avenue in Glenwood at 2pm last Tuesday.
“Our officer responded to a property where he was advised that there had been an intruder on site. He searched the vicinity and arrested a suspect fitting the description, armed with a screw driver and pliers, at a nearby school. He was released on warning on our client’s instruction,” he said.
Jackson said three armed robbers had held up the owner of a property in Gillats Crescent on the Berea at lunchtime last Tuesday.
Three armed men who were carrying bags entered the property and held up the owner at gunpoint and fled with cash, perfume and cellphones.
Robbers armed with scissors held up a resident in Rickben Crescent in Bonela at 1pm last Wednesday.
“Three robbers jumped over the fence and then forced open the front door and security gate and held up the resident when he went to investigate. They robbed him of cellphones and a television. There were no injuries,” said Jackson.
Cato Manor SAPS attended the scene of the crime.
In Somtseu Road on North Beach on Saturday four armed men held up a bank client and robbed him of his cash. There were no injuries and the incident was handed over to the police.
Jackson urged residents and business owners not to confront intruders on their properties but to rather lock themselves in a safe room that has been equipped with a charged cellphone and a spare panic remote.
“Our crimes statistics have shown that residents who confront criminals and try to fight them off are far more likely to end up injured during the crime. If you can’t escape to a safe room to call for help on time, then your best option is to simply comply with the robbers to ensure that they leave your home as quickly as possible,” he said.
Several housebreakings were also reported across the Berea and Morningside where criminals fled with cellphones, televisions, laptops and cash.
