Rockhaven residents terrorised by criminals

A GROUP of Rockhaven Road residents has been pestered by criminals, with three serious incidents happening at their homes in less than three months.

On Monday, 23 March Mike Cole (not his real name) said he woke up shortly after 4am when his alarm was activated.

“The outside beams triggered the alarm. I got out of bed and walked to the lounge, where I looked out to the patio and fishpond. I saw a head, but couldn’t make out if it was an animal or person.

“I then called my wife to have a look. At that point the man was behind a pillar, and ran towards our sliding door with a knife in his hand. Fortunately, the door was still closed and he slammed into the door,” he said.

The couple then ran to their bedroom and locked themselves inside, while alerting the tenant below their unit and the owners, who live above their unit.

“I heard three loud thumps, but couldn’t make out what made the noises. But we heard him inside the house, where he went into the guest bedroom and ransacked the room. Only later did I see that he had kicked the burglar bars off the small middle window in the dining room.”

Cole said at about the same time the house owners on the top level noticed their bathroom window’s burglar bars had also been kicked in. Later, they saw on CCTV footage that three men were inside their home. It has not been established whether anything had been stolen.

“About six months ago, at about the same time, a previous tenant in the bottom level unit was tied up and robbed by three men. They cut her fan’s electrical cord and used it to tie her up. It was only when my wife woke up at 7am that morning that the tenant screamed for help,” he said.

He said the area has been plagued by criminals in recent months, with many burglaries and robberies being reported.

Cole said the security beams outside their home saved their lives, and alerted them to an intruder. He added that it was vital that residents secure all doors and windows in the house, leave valuables out of sight, install proper lighting outside and keep firearms close.

“You will never be prepared for it to happen, that’s why it’s also important to talk about what you, your wife and children would do in a situation like that. I was completely calm but caught off-guard. I feared for my wife’s life, and my first priority was to make sure she was safe,” he said.

The couple has not slept at home since the traumatic ordeal: “I don’t know if we’ll be able to live in the house again. My wife refuses to sleep at home, and we’ve been living with my daughter since.”

The robber made off a laptop, car keys, house keys and a few small items, some of which were found in the garden by police later that day.