A desperate kar skelm, who jumped over the roofs of 13 houses as he tried to escape crime fighters in Wynberg, has made his first appearance in Wynberg Magistrates’ Court today.
The dom dief crashed the stolen car into a pole and a tree and then fled on foot, but was nabbed when he got tired and turned himself in.
The dramatic arrest took place in Punts Estate on Friday morning.
Residents woke up to the sound of skote klapping in the streets with armed security guards hot on the heels of the thief in a stolen Honda Jazz.
Robin Fernandez of the Special Response Unit says the skelm made their bene lam as he vaulted over walls and they were forced to follow suit.
“On Friday morning, myself and my partner Riedewaan Heynes were on patrol when we got a call about a stolen Honda Jazz that had just been reported and we were told to keep an eye out,” he explains.
“Within minutes, we spotted the vehicle near Die Gatjie informal settlement and we hid in the dark and kept an eye on the vehicle as we alerted police and other security companies.”
Robin says initially there were four men in the vehicle and three got out.
“They were inspecting the car but then the driver got spooked and started (driving away) and then the ding started rukking in Mocke Road,” he says.
“We chased after him and he sped away and refused to stop. As he took the bend, he clipped another security company’s car but just kept on speeding.”
The skelm then hit a pole and the vehicle came to a halt.
“He rukked the whole street pole out of the ground, damaging the vehicle but then further crashed into a tree.
“He jumped out of the vehicle and started to run and that is when the gym session started,” says Robin.
“He jumped over walls and the roofs of 13 houses trying to get to the railway line to escape back into the Gatjie.
“We ran after him and he really gave us a workout but eventually we caught him at the last house because he was moeg and out of breath.
“When we arrested him, he couldn’t even talk because he was uit asem, we could see he had tronk tjappies.”
Police spokesperson, Colonel Andre Traut, confirms the arrest: “This office can confirm the arrest of a 43-year-old man on Friday afternoon for the possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
“The vehicle was stolen in Wynberg on the same day.”