Pretoria - Barely a week after being released from jail for serving time for robbery, a 25-year-old man from the city has been arrested again - for being involved in a mugging.
The man, who appeared in court on Tuesday, had been released on parole last week after spending three months in jail.
Five days into his new-found freedom he and three others allegedly attacked a man in Sunnyside, robbing him of his cash and jacket, and possibly an iPhone.
Police said the repeat offender had been released from a six-month jail sentence and was on parole until October when he was due to be set free.
He had been jailed for a robbery in Sunnyside in August last year, after being found in possession of a Blackberry cellphone, car keys and bank cards stolen from the person who claimed to be the rightful owner.
“The suspect was caught red-handed during the early hours of Sunday morning after the police found three men attacking a victim near the corner of Francis Baard and Wessels streets in Sunnyside,” said police spokesperson Captain Daniel Mavimbela.
“The other two suspects managed to escape,” he said, adding that it would appear they ran off with the victim’s iPhone.
But the victim’s money and jacket were recovered from the suspect.
When he appeared in court on Tuesday he faced charges of robbery, and remained in police custody as his case was postponed to next Monday.
Said Mavimbela: “In our view, people should be free and still be safe our duty is to ensure criminals are removed from public.”
He appealed to members of the public to be careful when walking alone, but
said criminals should not dictate to
them and hold them hostage in their own city.
“Our plea is for people to be cautious, avoid dark and isolated areas."
“But, most importantly, our duty is to make people feel safe and we will ensure security for them,” he said.
Mavimbela said he had noticed that repeat offender were few and parolees were part of that group.
“For now, what I have noticed is that the criminals have a particular way of doing things, and they are only a few people and parolees who are reoffenders.”
He gave a stern warning to criminals who thought they could do crime in Sunnyside and get away with them.
“We will not sit back as the police if criminals think they will turn Sunnyside into their happy hunting ground, we will deal with them,” he said.