Early to rise off-duty cop catches burglars

“My alarm was set for 4am as I wanted to wake up early and do revision for an exam I was writing that day. Without switching on the lights, I walked around the house and the entire property to make sure there was no-one lurking around. That’s when I saw someone in the backyard, throwing things over the fence,” said Dlamini.

“I started sneaking up on him and when I was getting closer, he saw me and ran around the house towards the road. I chased after him, he fell and I caught him. I started screaming for help, which alerted the neighbours. A few minutes later, a man from Park Patrol came to my aid and waited with me while police responded.”

“When police arrived, the man was searched and questioned. He was unarmed and it was discovered he was from Umlazi. He was placed in the van before we went to look at the place where he was throwing goods over the fence. The Park Patrol officer climbed over the fence first. He was looking over the area when he found a second man hiding in the bushes. He was armed with a spearhead.”

Most of the items recovered did not only belong to the Dlamini’s, who claimed, only the rake, spade and a backpack. The men pointed to the houses where they had also stolen goods from.

The officer’s wife, three children and their domestic worker were home when the incident occurred. “My wife, who was also writing exams, ended up not not writing them. She heard my screams and she was disturbed. My youngest child was awoken by the commotion and started crying. The whole event was emotional.” This was not the first time the Kestrel Crescent residence was burgled. In an incident about three weeks ago, their garage was cleared of all it’s contents.

The men, who are 23 and 24-years-old, have been charged with housebreaking. They appeared in Wentworth Court on Thursday, 14 November. Montclair SAP communications officer, Lt Leopold Jojozi said the men may be linked to other cases through fingerprint analysis.

– mbalim@dbn.caxton.co.za