A suspected robber was reportedly caught withdrawing money from his victims’ accounts, was remanded in custody by the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court.
The suspect and his three accomplices, who are at large, allegedly robbed a man and two female friends of handbags who had gone to a 15th Avenue tavern for drinks at midnight on 6 December, Alex News reported
After a while, the man and one woman returned to the vehicle, parked in the next street, to leave their bags when the suspects allegedly threatened them at gunpoint, grabbed their bags and ran away. The victims returned to the tavern to inform their friend who, shortly after, received a phone message about a withdrawal from her account at an ATM service station.
The trio rushed to the garage were they alerted garage security of two suspects who were at the ATM in the building, seemingly trying to withdraw more money from the victims’ accounts.
One of the victims went inside, stood behind the suspects and saw bank cards and drivers’ licences which the suspects had on their person. She screamed, which caused the suspects to panic, while trying to escape.
In the process, the suspect slapped her in the face and his accomplice escaped as the guards locked the door. They apprehended the suspect as he hid the money and others items on the shelves. Police were called and he was arrested. The bank cards, drivers’ licences and money were recovered but the bags were not found.
The defrauded victim had seemingly retained the slip with her pin number in the bag.
In mitigation, the suspect claimed that friends gave him the bank cards to withdraw the money.
He will appear before Magistrate Renier Boshoff on 6 September.
– Caxton News Service
