Weekend crime round-up
An overview of crimes reported to local SAPS from July 21 to 23.
The following crimes were reported to Brakpan police over the past weekend:
Friday – A blue Nissan 1400 bakkie was stolen from Kingsway Avenue.
• The driver of a Hyundai fell victim to hijackers along Heidelberg Road (R23) near Carnival City after being involved in a minor collision at about 19:00.
The victim told police he stopped his car after the vehicle behind him bumped his car. He opened the driver’s side door and was about to get out when he was attacked by a man from the other car, who pushed him back inside.
Two other men got into the back of the car and strangled him with shoelaces. The victim was pulled to the backseat and the hijackers drove off with him.
They stopped in a veld where the victim was left with two other men. He was robbed of his cellphone and bank card. The hijackers also demanded the PIN for the card.
His hands were tied and he was held captive for about three hours.
• A female motorist was robbed of her handbag during a smash-and-grab in Dalpark. The victim was stationary at the traffic lights along Airport Drive at about 19:20 when a man approached her car and tried to open the doors, which were locked.
Another man then appeared and smashed one of the windows. He reached into the car and grabbed her handbag, which contained her purse and some cash. The pair then ran off.
• A TV, a gaming console, cellphones and other valuables were stolen during a house robbery along Molopo Avenue in Leachville.
The victims, a woman, her children and mother-in-law, were confronted by three men who walked into the house at about 20:20.
One of the intruders was armed with a gun and he instructed the family not to move or make any noise. The robbers asked the woman where her husband was and she told them he was expected home any minute.
The robbers then got to work ransacking the house. The two women and one of the older sons were taken to a bedroom where one of the robbers guarded them.
When the men left and the house fell silent, the woman and her son sought help from a neighbour.
• An e-hailing driver was robbed at gunpoint after picking up a passenger at around 20:45. The driver, travelling in a gold-coloured Toyota Etios, received a request for a ride and arrived at an address along Prince George Avenue where two men were waiting.
As the driver pulled up, one of the men walked away while the other got into the passenger side of the Etios.
The driver was then hit on the neck with an unknown object.
The man who had initially walked away got into the back of the car and grabbed the driver from behind.
He was armed with a gun and cocked the weapon. The front passenger then started searching the driver and took his cellphone, a Wi-Fi router, his driver’s licence, bank cards and R1 100 in cash.
The car’s radio was also stolen. The men tied the driver’s hands to the steering wheel of his car with a charging cable and then fled the scene.
Saturday – A white Toyota Hilux bakkie was stolen from Voortrekker Road.
• Robberies were reported at two guest houses. In both incidents the robberies were carried out by two gunmen.
Details and descriptions given to police indicate the same men are responsible for both crimes.
The first robbery took place at a Kitzinger Avenue guest house where employees were held at gunpoint. Two men entered the guest house at 17:45 and told the receptionist they wanted to book a room.
After showing the men the different rooms available and discussing the prices, the men decided on a room and paid cash.
The receptionist owed them change and went to a back room to collect the money.
When she returned to the reception area, one of the men pulled out a gun and pointed it at her. His accomplice was also armed with a firearm.
The men rounded up three other employees and forced them into a room. One of the men kept watch while the other searched the reception area.
Once the robbers had fled, the employees fled the room and discovered the panic button and keys to the back room were missing. Cash was also taken, as well as an iPhone belonging to one of the employees.
The second robbery took place at a guest house along Prince George Avenue at 18:10. Two men entered the guest house and told staff they wanted to book a room. After viewing one of the rooms, they paid for it in cash.
One of the men then pulled out a gun and pointed it an employee.
Two employees were locked in a back room and the robbers fled with cash, three cellphones, a panic button and a gate remote.
• Two TVs were stolen during a burglary at a home in Glamorgan Avenue, Dalview.
• A white Toyota Land Cruiser Prado was stolen from Venter Street in Dalview.
• A white Toyota Hilux Legend bakkie was stolen from the corner of Short and Colliery roads in Rand Collieries.
Sunday – A man was robbed of his cellphone and money by the three occupants of a silver Toyota Tazz.
The victim was walking along Prince George Avenue, near Porter Avenue, in Brenthurst just after 07:00 when the car pulled up alongside him and the occupants asked for directions to Brakpan North.
The man sitting in the back of the car then pointed a gun at the victim and demanded his belongings. The victim handed over his phone and R50, and the trio drove off.
• Extension cables, an amplifier, a bicycle and water taps were stolen from a Wenden Avenue business.
• A motorbike was stolen from an address along Merriman Street in Brenthurst. The bike was parked in a locked garage.
• A laptop and an iPad were stolen from a home along Gloucester Avenue in Dalview.
• A home in Tweedy Road, Brenthurst, was burgled of a computer and a TV.
• A car parked at the corner of High Street and Kitzinger Avenue was broken into and the vehicle’s radio was stolen.
