Douglasdale police had a successful conviction after the accused, Mokone Johanne Mokochoa (30) an undocumented Lesotho foreign national, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for two separate armed robbery incidents, by the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on 11 October.
The sentence emanated from two incidents. The first one took place on 25 September 2017 at about 8.30pm where the accused attacked a man (54) who was walking along the street in North Riding. The accused hit the victim with a firearm on his head before he robbed him of his cell phone, cash and wallet. The victim sustained injuries to his head.
In the second incident the accused attacked a woman (45) on 27 September 2017 at about 6.30am after the victim had just finished closing the gate of her yard and proceeded to walk back to her vehicle. The accused then grabbed the victim from behind by her neck and assaulted her with a firearm on her head demanding her cell phone. He took the victim’s bag with a purse and cell phone before he instructed the victim to go back into the house. The victim also sustained injuries to her head.
A police manhunt was launched immediately. Intensive police investigation by the Douglasdale Tracing Team led to the arrest of the accused on 27 September 2017 at about 7am while he walking along the street in Kya Sands informal settlement. He was searched and found to be in possession of an unlicensed firearm and one magazine, the cell phone of the victim and other personal belongings from his victims, which included their cards.
Mokochoa was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for each case of armed robbery. The court has ordered that the sentences are to run concurrently.
The sentence given was an indication that the police will leave no stone unturned to keep the people of Douglasdale safe.
“We applaud the swift response of our Tracing Team including the hard work and commitment shown by the investigating officer Sergeant Morwamocha Maloka,” said the Station Commander of Douglasdale Police Station Brigadier Veeshani Arikum.
Details: Douglasdale Police Station 011 699 1300 or relief commander on 071 675 7158 or 08600 10111.
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