Man in court after robbing shop owners in Alex
ALEXANDRA - Hunt for interpreter delays trial of robber.
A man was remanded in custody by the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court on two counts of armed robbery of two shop owners in Alexandra.
He will reappear in court after the victims’ home language interpreter is secured.
The accused, who was armed and with two other accomplices who are still at large, is alleged to have, on 31 May, entered a shop on 13th Avenue and threatened the shop owner with a gun before robbing him of R2 000, a Nokia cellphone and the owner’s asylum documents.
On 3 June, and again at gunpoint but acting alone, the accused allegedly approached and threatened another shop owner on the same street before taking R3 050 worth of airtime, cigarettes valued at R2 800, two cellphones worth R8 000 and R2 000 in coins.
Both shop owners reported the robberies to the police.
One of the owners told police where to find the accused as he knew the robber’s whereabouts. He also alleged that the accused had robbed him before, but he did not report the incident.
Police went to the location and arrested the 27-year-old accused. The other shop owner was then called to the police station where he identified the man as the robber.
The accused’s firearm and the stolen items were not recovered.
