For two 17-year-old boys an afternoon of hanging out turned into one of fear when they were robbed at knifepoint.
Phones were recovered from the suspect’s person.
“We were standing on the corner when a guy ran up to us, I saw he had a knife and told Nathan to watch out,” said Jaco Nortman, one of the two boys that were robbed.
The two boys, Jaco Nortman and Nathan Nel, were robbed in Gerda Street, Model Park.
One of the suspects
“The guy robbed Nathan of his phone first then he told me to give him the phone, I handed it over,” said Nortman.
Both boys immediately ran away from the suspect, who didn’t give chase; they sought help from a nearby motorist who then in turn alerted the South African Community Crime Watch (SACCW) Witbank on their Zello channel.
Phones were recovered from the suspect’s person.
Members of the SACCW tracked down the suspect in Clarendon Street and detained him awaiting police. The suspect was found in possession of three phones, two of which were the boys’, and a knife roughly 15cm in length.
The boys’ parents were notified about what happened, police took down their statements and the suspect was taken into police custody.
“We have had numerous cases of school children being assaulted and robbed of their cell phones while walking home from school the past two weeks. We would like to urge the children not to walk and text or present their phones while walking as this makes them targets,” said Ms Maureen Scheepers, Witbank SACCW.
ALSO READ
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/97108/couple-pays-life-cellphone-laptop/
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/93913/suspects-get-away-cell-phones-cash/
