Gun fails twice during Mpumalanga armed robbery

Marcus Leta and a friend, Bella Cordier, were threatened, assaulted and tied up during an armed robbery at the Lucky Star Internet Lounge at the Ridge Plaza (Palms) in Mpumalanga on Thursday afternoon, the Ridge Times reports.

The gun failed twice when the robber held it to Leta’s head and pulled the trigger.

“I could only think of the promise I made to my son that I would be home for his birthday,” Leta told the Ridge Times.

READ MORE: Callous gunmen open fire on helpless staff in botched armed robbery in KZN

Leta is from Johannesburg, but lives in Secunda for long periods on end to manage the gaming facility.

Cordier, also a Johannesburg resident who works in Secunda and commutes over weekends, is a friend of Leta’s, and often visited him at the internet lounge during her lunch breaks or days off.

Ms Bella Cordier cannot think of a reason why the gun did not go off.

“I visited the jewellers next door on Thursday and decided to pop in to the internet lounge for a chat,” explained Cordier.

The two friends were engrossed in their conversation when three men entered the lounge at about 1pm.

Two chose to gamble on machines 6 and 7 while the third, who did not want to pay more than R10 to gamble online, left the facility.

“The two men seemed friendly enough and even shared coldrinks,” said Cordier.

As the time passed, the other customers began to leave and at about 3pm, Leta, Cordier and the two men were the only people in the room.

“One of them called me to his machine, and as I was bending down, I was hit with a hammer,” Leta said.

“The shorter of the two pulled a gun out of the front of his trousers and pointed it at me and demanded money.”

Cordier could not believe what was happening, but upon hearing the gun being racked, she instinctively went into survival mode.

“You obey them and do not question their ability to use a firearm,” she said.

The assailants knocked her and her chair over, and screamed contradictory commands at her.

“One was shouting that I must not look at them, while the other one was slapping me under the chin with the gun, ordering me not to sleep but to keep looking at him.”

Cordier said they tied her hands and then returned to tie up her upper arms too.

“They kept on shouting and stepping on me. I just prayed and prayed, pleading the blood of Jesus over us. I thought that they were going to kill Marcus and rape me.”

Leta told the newspaper his hands were tied behind his back and that at this time, the robbers had pulled open the till drawer in the office and had taken out about R12 000.

They demanded the safe’s key, and when he could not produce it, the robber pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire.

“He took the bullet out and racked the slide again and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. I was petrified,” said Leta.

The robbers then used a crowbar and hammer to pry open the safe from where they looted more than R25 000.

The thugs also grabbed a laptop, the store’s keys, Cordier’s money and her brand new cellphone.

“I received the phone three days before the robbery. I did, however, manage to hide my car keys in my shirt’s sleeve.”

Leta said the robbers fled through the back door, and scaled the palisades at the back of the complex.

The Lucky Star Internet Lounge.

The local security guard spotted them as they fled.

“The minute they ran out, I pressed the panic button and then the lever to open the safety door at the front,” Leta explained.

He ran to the jewellery store for help.

The shop owner alerted the police and then untied Leta. Both helped Cordier up from the floor and untied her.

The robbers were gone in seconds, and have not yet been caught.

The two friends received trauma counselling on Friday, but Cordier never to return.

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