Weekend crime round-up

According to information received, the following crimes were reported to Brakpan police over the weekend:

• Friday – Staff at a shop in 12th Road, Maryvlei, were robbed of their cellphones during an armed robbery at around 08:30. Two men, one armed with a gun and the other with a knife, entered the shop and forced staff into a storeroom. The knifeman kept a watch over them and told them not to look at him. He took their cellphones and then left. Nothing was taken from the shop.

* A Dalpark Extension Nine woman and her family were terrorised in their home by three robbers.
The incident took place at 14:35 at an address along Sheridan Street.
The woman was in the kitchen when she heard a strange noise and got up to look outside.
She saw a silver vehicle and three men rushing to her door.

As she tried to press the panic button, the men were already at the door and one of them threatened to hurt her if she pressed the button. The men then forcefully opened the door and started taking various items.
It is not indicated whether the robbers had any weapons or whether the family was tied up during the robbery.
The robbers fled with a laptop, tablets, cellphones, TVs, jewellery and other valuables.
* Cellphones, cigarettes, cash, chocolates and cold drinks were stolen during a robbery at a shop along Station Road.

Three men entered the shop at 21:30 and threatened the owner and two other people in the shop at gunpoint.
The victims were taken to a backroom, where they were told to lie down and were then assaulted.
After about 30 minutes, the victims emerged from the back room and found the shop had been ransacked.
The value of the stolen goods is estimated at almost R50 000.

* Groceries, a suitcase and other household goods were stolen during a burglary at a home in Olga Mitchell Street, Anzac.

• Saturday – A woman was robbed of her cellphone and bank card in the parking lot of Mall@Carnival at 15:00.
The woman had parked her car and was heading to a fast-food eatery while on a call.
A man walked past her, then turned around and snatched the phone from her and ran off.
Her bank card was in the phone’s case.
* Gardening equipment and tools were stolen during a break-in at a residence in Dove Street, Anzac.
The items were stolen from the garage on the property.

• Sunday – The driver of a silver Isuzu bakkie was robbed at gunpoint along Boundary Road at 12:20.
The victim wanted to overtake the car travelling in front of him as it was continuously braking, forcing him to also constantly stop.
Two men then appeared on either side of the bakkie with one hitting the driver’s side window and the other pointing a gun at the victim. The gunman climbed into the victim’s bakkie and told him to drive to a nearby gravel road.

They stopped and the victim was pulled out of the vehicle and searched. The gunman took the victim’s cellphone, his wallet containing R1 600 and bank cards, and R200 that was inside the bakkie. Tools, a high-pressure cleaner, a petrol pump, welding machine and an electric kit were also stolen. The victim then climbed into his bakkie and drove home.

* A white Toyota bakkie was stolen from an address along Acton Street in Dalview.
* Industrial products were stolen during a robbery at a business in Atomic Street, Vulcania.
A security guard on the premises was confronted by two armed men in the guard room at 23:30.
The men threatened to shoot him if he didn’t cooperate and asked the whereabouts of the other guard on duty.
He took the robbers to his colleague and one of the robbers was left to watch over them.
They heard a workshop being broken into and the remaining robber then left.
The guards then raised the alarm and called the manager.
In addition to the products from the business, the robbers also took the guards’ cellphones.