Robber’s ploy to be victim’s friend fails
ALEXANDRA – A robber who pretended to be a friend to his victim failed to fool security guards who responded to a panic alarm from the victim's home.
A robber who pretended to be a friend to his victim failed to fool security guards responding to a panic alarm at the victim’s home.
This emerged at the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court where the robber and two accomplices were remanded in custody pending further investigation for their alleged crime. A fourth suspect is still at large.
The court heard that at about 7.30am on 25 August, the victim from Savoy Estate in Bramley reversed his car out of the garage but failed to open the yard gate with his remote. When he went to check, he found the gate partially open. Suddenly the four suspects, armed with knives, and suspected to have been hiding somewhere on the premises, pounced and carried the man into a room in the garage where they searched him and took his wallet with some money, a Samsung cellphone and attempted to remove his ring but failed until he did and gave it to them. They are alleged to have forced him into the main house, but before they could steal anything, they heard sounds at the gate which came from the security company vehicles responding to the panic alarm.
Three of the alleged robbers fled from the house but two were apprehended at the gate and one escaped. The security guards went into the house and found another robber with the victim. When asked who he was, he claimed to be the victim’s friend but the victim told the guards that he was one of the robbers and he was arrested.
The robbers’ knives and everything that had been taken from the victim were recovered.
