After his getaway vehicle sped off without him, a 27-year-old alleged business robber scaled a high razor wire fence to try and evade capture, on Tuesday.
The community and police were too clever for him, however, and he is now sitting behind bars at the Primrose Police Station.
An armed business robbery, involving three suspects, took place at a shop on the corner of Geldenhuis and Park streets in Malvern East.
Police patrolling in the area noticed a vehicle speeding off and then saw a man running out of the shop.
“He jumped the razor wire fence into another property to get away from the police,” said Sgt Styles Maome, communications officer for the Primrose SAPS.
“The officers went to the shop and were told that the suspects, one armed with a black gun, had entered the shop and told the owner to keep quiet.
“They demanded money and made off with R2 500 cash and six cartons of cigarettes.”
Meanwhile, members of the neighbourhood watch in Malvern East had been alerted to the fact that a man was hiding in a woman’s vehicle in her garage in Pandora Street.
The patrollers reacted quickly and apprehended the suspect, who was handed over to the arresting officer, Sgt Khomotso Seopa, from the Primrose police.
The man had suffered a number of cuts on his arms and upper body due to his climb over the fence.
He was detained at the Primrose Police Station pending his appearance in the Germiston Magistrates Court on charges of business robbery and malicious damage to property.
The other business robbers are still at large and the money and cigarettes have not been recovered.
Maome told the GCN that the suspect would be receiving medical attention for his injuries.
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