GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - A total of 31 cases were opened by the Graaff-Reinet police in the last week, including two of murder.
There were ten cases of burglary (of which three were at business premises), and ten of theft. Two cases of malicious damage to property were also opened.
In addition, one case of each of the following was reported: robbery with a weapon other than a firearm, common robbery, stock theft, and pointing of a firearm.
Relating to vehicles, there was also one case of theft of motor vehicle, an attempted theft of motor vehicle, and one theft out of a motor vehicle.
Unusually, three of the residential burglaries took place in Nieu-Bethesda. The first happened on 2 March, and was discovered after a door was seen to have been forced open. As the owner is away, it is not known what was taken. In the second case, the owner was also away, having left for Port Elizabeth on 17 February.
When he returned on 1 March, he found that a side window of the house had been broken to gain entry. Liquor, electrical equipment, a fan, padlocks and other items were stolen to the total value of R13 400. In the third case in the village, according to the complainant, his house was broken into during the period between 14:00 on 3 March and 07:00 the next day. Entry was gained by forcing open a door of the premises, and a bicycle worth R8000 was stolen.
A suspect was arrested after confessing to stealing electric tools worth R12 830 from an outside storeroom in Umasizakhe. The owner found that the room had been broken into on his return from work on 26 February (he had been away since 16 February), and asked a man standing in his yard if he had seen anything. The man then admitted that he had taken the tools and sold them.
In the three business burglaries, cigarettes, money and airtime were stolen from a shop in Asherville on 26 February; a hamper of liquor worth R4 000 as well as chocolates were taken from the Graaff-Reinet Golf Club during the Saturday night; and a black laptop was stolen from a business in Somerset Street sometime between Saturday afternoon and Monday morning after burglar bars and a window were broken.
Cellphones were taken in two cases of robbery. The first happened on 31 January, on the Middelburg road, at about 04:45. Men hiding alongside the road pounced on a man walking past, and took his phone and other items. The second victim was a woman jogging at Magazine Hill at 17:00 on 27 February. She was approached by three men, two of whom grabbed her and took her cellphone, worth R4 000. Fortunately she was not injured.
In one of the three vehicle cases, a vehicle involved in an accident was stoen while the driver was receiving treatment at Midland Hospital. He later received information on where the vehicle had been seen, and the police are investigating.
An attempt was made to steal one of the busses from Khanyisa Day Care on 28 February. It had been taken out of the garage by the driver, who then left with another bus. It was later found outside the gate to the premises, after the lock on the gate had been forced open.
Sometime between 10:00 on 26 February and 08:00 the next day, the Tom-Tom navigation system was stolen from a vehicle left at the municipality workshop in the industrial area to be repaired.
In the many theft cases, goods stolen include 17 fencing poles from SANParks fence line, electrical tools from a storeroom in Queen Street, four palisades in Kroonvale, R3 000 cash from a till in Umasizakhe, a cellphone from a tavern in Kroonvale, barbed wire from Graaff-Reinet Primary School, and doors from a property in Geluksdal.
Two incidents involved bank cards. On 4 March, R3 000 was withdrawn from a woman’s account by someone at a bank in Caledon Street while her bank card was still in her possession. In the second incident, a woman was away from home between 1 March and 4 March, and when she returned, she looked for her bank card, but could not find it. The complainant has received numerous notifications of money being withdrawn from her bank account, to the value is R1 700.
In the stock theft case, eight dorper sheep, value R16 000, were taken from the farm Kriegerskraal.
A firearm and Mandrax tablets were confiscated on 1 March at about 03:25 by members of the K9 unit on patrol in Caledon Street. They saw a suspicious person starting to run, so one of the members gave chase on foot and the suspect then pointed a firearm at the member. The suspect was arrested.
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