Four suspects, charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances, were remanded in custody by the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court to allow them to secure legal representation after they dismissed the one they had.
The four allegedly robbed an Eastbank butchery and bottle store of money and liquor at midday on 20 October last year. All the stolen items were recovered when they were arrested shortly after the incident.
The suspects, driving a Toyota Corolla, arrived at the store and ordered pap and chicken. When the attendant left for the kitchen, one of the suspects also ordered a beer. As the storekeeper fetched the beer, he was startled to find one of the suspects right behind him, allegedly with a gun in his hand.
The suspect is said to have ordered him and a customer to hand over their cellphones, which they did, before forcing them to lie face down. The suspect then ordered the attendant to open the till from which either he or one of the other suspects allegedly took R1 014. They are also said to have taken bottles of wine and whiskey before driving off with two others who had remained in their car.
The police were alerted to the incident and nabbed the four shortly after at a filling station in Marlboro, where the stolen items and money were recovered.
The suspects were instructed by the court to find another legal representative.
Read: Robbers steal shop and employees’ phones
