Two Alex men will reappear in the Alex Magistrates’ Court on 23 September for a case of armed robbery and vehicle hijacking which occurred in Randburg.
The men allegedly committed the crime on 1 May at about 8.30pm and were arrested two hours later after a car chase in Alexandra. The two are said to have hijacked a Honda sedan and stolen a cellphone from their victim who had stopped at a traffic yield sign on Oak Street.
They allegedly stepped in front of the victim’s car and one of them moved to the drive’s side and pointed a gun at him, while the other moved to the passenger side and tried, but failed, to open the door which was locked. The one with the gun ordered the driver to unlock the doors, get out of the car and hand over the phone, which he did. The two got into the car and drove off in the direction of Sandton.
The victim ran to nearby shops where he contacted his insurance company for emergency assistance and also called 10111. He tracked the car’s location through his phone, which confirmed it was moving towards Sandton.
The signal stopped near Sandton when the men threw the phone away. The men proceeded to Alex on Florence Maphosho Avenue towards Ext 9 at high speed, passing a police vehicle which prompted a chase. The passenger allegedly jumped out of the moving car and ran into the houses with police firing a warning shot. The man refused to stop, resulting in the police shooting him. He collapsed and his accomplice driving the car stopped. Both were arrested. The injured man was taken to hospital for treatment under police guard. The gun they used in the hijacking was found to be a toy gun.
Their victim managed to retrieve his phone from where it was thrown away and his vehicle was returned to him.
