GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Once again, theft featured prominently in Graaff-Reinet’s casebook this last week, with six cases opened from a variety of areas.
The first case concerns copper water pipes, valued at R1 500, which were taken from a house in Liebenberg Street. According to the complainant, the suspect entered the house at about 09:00 on 22 October. The suspect then proceeded to cut off the water pipes. He has been arrested, and the case is still under investigation.
The second incident took place between 3 September and 23 October in Vink Street, Asherville. According to the complainant, the suspect has stolen her jewelry and groceries from her residence over a period of time. The total value amounts to R4 000. The suspect is known but has not yet been arrested.
In the third case, according to the complainant the suspect came to a witness’ residence at Arum St, between 15:00 on 19 October and 18:00 on 23 October to borrow the complainant’s laptop. The suspect has still not returned the laptop (valued at R5 000) to the complainant. The suspect has not yet been arrested, and the case is still under investigation.
The next incident occurred at Jiang Ping’s shop in Market Square on 27 October at 09:45. The complainant reports that, according to the CCTV footage, the suspect entered the shop and took two boxes of Shield roll-on deodorant refills and left the shop without paying. The value of the stolen items is R120. The suspect has not yet been arrested.
A woman left her motorbike gloves and belt with the motorcycle outside Spur in Church Street on 27 October at 16:00. When she and her husband came back to the motorcycle, one of the car guards informed them that two men had stolen the items, which are valued at R1500. The suspects can be identified by one of the car guards, but no arrests have yet been made.
The final theft case involves a door, which was stolen from Midland Hospital in Albertyn street. The incident took place between 07:00 on 25 October and 07:00 on 29 October. The complainant left everything in order on 25 October, but when he returned to work, he found the door completely broken out of its frame and missing. The value of the door is about R1 200.
There were two cases of fraud, one involving goods that were ordered but not delivered, and one banking-related.
The first incident took place on 13 October in Fabriek St, in the industrial area. According to the complainant, he ordered two sheep at a cost of R4016 from the suspect, but later found out that she had used an alias. The suspect is known, but not yet arrested.
The second case took place on 25 October at 13:00 at the ABSA ATM in Church Street. According to the complainant, R4 000 of his wife’s money was withdrawn at the ATM by an unknown person.
There were three cases of robbery where a weapon was used.
In the first case, the complainant allegedly was standing at the hiking spot on the Jansenville Road at 10:00 on 24 October when he was attacked by two unknown men who threatened him with a knife. They took his sandals, laptop, and other clothing, as well as toiletries and a wallet, all to the value of R4 150.
The second incident took place at 10;45 on 27 October in Murray St. The complainant was on his way to the bank to deposit money when two suspects approached him and threatened him with a knife. They robbed him of R9 000.
A suspect was arrested in the third case, which happened on 27 October at 19:30 in Church Street. The complainant was on her way home when she was attacked by a man, who threatened her with a knife, robbed her of her money and ran away. The suspect was later found by SAPS and arrested. The amount taken was R500.
There was also a case of common robbery (ie no weapon was used). At 10:00 on 26 October, the complainant was inside Shoprite in Caledon Street when two men grabbed him and dragged him outside the shop. They then took his cell phone and cash from him, with a total value of R420. The suspects are known to the complainant but have not yet been arrested.
There were three residential burglaries, two in Umasizakhe and one in Reinet Park.
The first took place at 23:45 on 21/ October in Ben Schoeman Street, Reinet Park. According to the complainant, the suspect broke a window to gain entrance to the premises and then stole the complainant’s dog, valued at R3 500. The suspect is known to the complainant but has not yet been arrested. The case is still under investigation.
In the second case, the complainant left her home in Vrygronde, Umasizakhe, at 14:30 on 25 October. When she returned the next day at 06:00, she found that her home had been broken into. Laptops, groceries, an amplifier, a DSTV decoder and a cell phone had been stolen, to the value of R15 000.
The third incident took place between 15:20 on 27 October at 13:00 the next day in Lower Location, Umasizakhe. According to the complainant, entrance was gained by breaking a window. The suspect or suspects stole a television and two cell phones to the value of R1 200.
Two cases of malicious damage to property were opened. In the first, the complainant was called by one of her employees at 09:10 on 25 October, informing her that a truck drove into their property in Murray Street. The damage to the property is estimated at R30 000.
The other incident took place at 20:00 on 26 October at Botterblom Street. According to the complainant, the suspect threw stones at her house, and in the process damaged windows. The suspect also broke a television set inside the home. The value of the damage is R1 000. The suspect is known, but not yet arrested.
An attempt was made to steal a motor vehicle in van Riebeeck Street on 26 October, at about 01:00. The complainant was asleep when he was awoken by a barking dog. He went outside to check on his vehicle and saw its bonnet open, and the suspect tampering with the vehicle’s electrical wiring for the starter. Unfortunately, the suspect ran away before he could be caught.
A battery was stolen from a truck parked at Irhafu Block Bricks, in Umasizakhe. The incident took place between 20 October and 26 October. According to the complainant, the padlock of the door was broken and a Raylite battery, value R1200.00, stolen from the truck. The suspect is known to the complainant, but no arrest has been made yet.
In another incident in Khayelitsha, a vehicle’s door lock was broken and a CD player and two speakers to the total value of R1 000 were stolen. This took place between 20:00 on 26 October and 10:40 on 27 October.
The week’s final case in a busy week for Graaff-Reinet police was one of shoplifting, from Jet Stores in Caledon Street. According to the complainant, the suspect entered the store at 15:07 on 25 October and took clothing to the value of R550 without paying. The suspect has been arrested.
Willowmore crime
There were two residential burglaries in Willowmore last week.
The first took place between 05:30 and 06:30 on 26 October at the complainant’s residence on Miller farm. The suspect or suspects broke in and took a cell phone, clothing, shoes and toiletries to the value of R2 104.
The second took place between 13:50 on 27 October and 02:30 the next morning at Mark St. The living room door was forced open by the suspect, who stole a cell phone to the value of R2 000.
Between 04:00 and 04:15 on 27 October, the kitchen door of Willowmore Secondary School in Henrietta Street was forced open, 40kg of meat was stolen from the freezer.
There were also two cases of malicious damage to property in the town.
The first incident took place at the Caravan Park in the town on 23 October at about 02:30. According to the complainant, someone broke his vehicle’s rear window trying to get in, causing R2 000 damage.
In the second case, according to the complainant, she closed all windows and locked all doors of her vehicle at 17:30 on 22 October. The next day, at about 07:45, when she went to her vehicle, she found that the right passenger side window was half open. The cover on the window was also missing. The damage amounts to R10 000, and the case is under investigation.
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