BRIXTON – A 15-year-old boy was robbed at gunpoint, while on his way home, by suspects who were eventually discovered to be a family acquaintance on 26 May 2018.
According to Brixton Police Station, the two suspects had approached the boy and threatened him to give them his belongings. Jeanette Backoff, the spokesperson for the station, said R3 600 worth of items were stolen from the boy. “The suspects searched the boy and took everything that he had out of his pocket. They took his tablet, a charger and R80 cash.”
Backoff said after the incident, the boy’s parent blacklisted the items with the cell phone company as they were on contract and proceeded to open a case of armed robbery. Two days after the robbery, the boy’s mother noticed that an acquaintance of the family had a tablet very similar to that of her son’s. She questioned the now known suspects on whose device it is and he said it belonged to his wife. The mother was extremely suspicious and handed over this information to the investigating officer of the case, Constable TC Tsotetsi. He then gathered evidence linking the acquaintance to the robbery.
The matter was recently heard in court and all evidence was presented to the magistrate.
Backoff said, “The case went to court for final decision and the suspect was found guilty for armed robbery and declared unfit to possess a firearm. He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.”
Backoff would like to thank Tsotetsi for following the mother’s gut-feeling and bringing those responsible for this crime to book. “The investigating officer Constable Tsotetsi must be complimented for the part that he played in the investigation.”
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