Six suspects, including a woman, briefly appeared in Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Monday in connection with the armed robbery and murder of metro police officer Martiens Bann (64) on Saturday.
The incident, along Flamboyant Street in Edleen, took place on Saturday between 1 and 2pm.
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EMPD spokesman, Chief Supt Wilfred Kgasago, said the swift combined efforts of the EMPD, SAPS and private security company officers resulted in the arrest of the suspects.
“While the owner of the house had the gates open to fetch a grass cutter from the back rooms for his gardener to trim the grass on the pavement, two suspects held his wife and helper at gunpoint in the main house. On approaching the gate, the owner and his gardener were forced into the house at gunpoint,” explained Kgasago.
According to acting Norkem Park spokesman, WO Mahlodi Langa, one fatal shot to the stomach cost Bann his life.
“The crime scene was next door to Bann’s house and one of the victims and his neighbour called him asking for assistance. Bann called Norkem Park SAPS before heading to the house to try and assist. The police arrived shortly thereafter but he had already been shot,” explained Langa.
Langa said seven suspects loaded plasma TVs, as well as other electrical appliances into the robbery victims’ car and tried to reverse out of the yard. They bumped into the wall and struggled to flee the scene.
This was when Bann arrived. Bann was shot by one of the suspects as they fled the scene on foot.
Norkem Park SAPS arrived and managed to apprehend one of the suspects. Langa said community members alerted police officers that another suspect was hiding on the roof. He was also arrested.
“The other suspects fled the scene but four of them were arrested by EMPD and security officers shortly thereafter. One suspect escaped,” he said.
Langa said EMPD officers first arrested one suspect and were able to arrest three others as they tried communicating with the arrested suspect through his cellphone.
Cases of murder, house robbery and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition have been opened.
