11 house robberies in three weeks

“You never think it will happen to you.”

These are the words of a resident of Carletonville after two men attacked her in her bedroom last week. She is one of many from our area who fell victim to these violent thugs, some of whom also murdered and raped, over the past festive season.

Four violent crimes occurred just on New Year’s Day.

The first occurred on Azurite Street. A resident was asleep when she woke up to the sound of robbers in her house. Both wore balaclavas, and at least one had a weapon. They grabbed her television and cell phone and ran away.

A robber stormed in and attacked another man with a knife in his bedroom on Agnew Road at approximately 05:00. He then stole his bank card and ran away. Police arrested the Lesotho national on charges of house robbery and attempted murder last weekend.

Yet another house robbery occurred at approximately 20:30 on 37th Avenue in Blyvooruitzicht.

The residents were braaiing outside when three Sotho-speaking men stormed up to them. The thugs also ran into the house and shot their friend dead in his room. The criminals then grabbed their money and ran away. The police are investigating charges of house robbery and murder.
Armed robbers also struck at another house in Blyvoor at about 21:00, this time on 25th Avenue. Three Sotho-speaking men stormed in and demanded money from a woman in the house. She screamed for help, and her son ran to her rescue. Other residents also responded, but the robbers shot one in his left shoulder and the other in the right side of his chest. The man who was shot in his shoulder later died in Carletonville Hospital. The police are investigating charges of house robbery, murder and attempted murder.

Meanwhile, a group of friends were in their home on 25th Avenue in Blyvooruitzicht when three armed Sotho-speaking men stormed in shortly before midnight on 31 December. The thugs demanded valuables and started shooting when the victims did not comply fast enough.

One man was hit in the leg but seized an opportunity to escape through a window. Unfortunately, the body of one of his friends was discovered in a vegetable garden outside the home, where he had succumbed to his injuries. The thugs fled with only cell phones and small household items. The SAPS is investigating charges of murder, attempted murder and house robbery.

Two men were arrested in Carletonville on Friday night, after attacking a woman in her bed in a complex on the morning of 3 January. The two suspects, aged 28 and 34 respectively, appeared in the Oberholzer Magistrate’s Court on charges of house robbery and rape on Monday morning.

Intruders shot a resident during a house robbery in Khutsong Extension 5 on 28 December.

A man and his friend went outside on Mangosotho Street in the “40s” for a smoke at about 00:50. They had just walked back in when three thugs forced the door open behind them. Two had firearms, while one wielded a knife.

The criminals forced the two onto the ground and demanded money. When they said they did not have any, the robbers threatened to kill them.
The robbers then fired a shot, which hit the resident in his leg. They fled with cell phones and all the money they could find in the home.

Meanwhile, two sisters and a little girl from Blyvoor had too close an encounter with house robbers on 17 December.
The mother and her five-year-old were asleep in her room when someone suddenly forced the door open.

“Get out of bed,” a Sotho-speaking thug ordered.

The two got up, and the intruder forced them into the room of the woman’s sister, where two more robbers were waiting.

The thugs then grabbed numerous electrical goods and ran from the scene.

House robbers struck on Cactus Street in Carletonville shortly before Christmas.

The resident was at home when five unknown, armed men stormed into her home at approximately 15:00 on 22 December.

They immediately demanded money and proceeded to search the home.
The criminals grabbed a television, six cell phones and an assortment of liquor before fleeing.

The police are still unsure of the make or model of the escape vehicle.
House robbers struck on Bluebell Street in Carletonville while a resident was asleep on 17 September.

He woke up hearing thugs in his room at about 02:00.

The four house robbers forced him to keep quiet and proceeded to take a laptop, two cell phones and all the money he had with him before fleeing. At the start of the festive season, house robbers struck at Tembalihle on Egret Street in East Driefontein on 15 December.

The resident exited his home at approximately 03:45. As he stepped out, three unknown men grabbed him and forced him back in.

The thugs, one of whom was armed, grabbed numerous electrical goods and the keys to his Isuzu bakkie. They then sped off in the vehicle, leaving him uninjured.