CANDICE SOOBRAMONEY
A SUSPECT was caught red handed while trying to break into the home of a Howick policeman.
Communications officer, Captain Lolly Moodley, apprehended one of three criminals who gained access to his Greendale property in the early hours of Monday morning.
Brandishing his service gun, Moodley said the suspect had been standing in front of his kitchen window with a pop rivet gun, a screwdriver and pliers which belonged to him.
The spare tyre of Moodley’ 4x4 was positioned below the window, which he assumed the man would use to gain entry into his home.
The suspect’s two accomplices fled by scaling the boundary wall.
Moodley believed the men also tried to poison his dog by placing a liquid substance suspected to be a banned insecticide in the Alsatian’s water bowl. But the dog did not drink the water. He said three dogs in the Howick area had died in recent weeks. They were poisoned.
In the first incident the criminals stole a car, and in the others, they attempted to break into two homes.
Recalling the events, Moodley said at around 2.30am he heard a noise similar to that of a window been forced open.
His wife Nelita was asleep.
“I woke her up and got my service gun from the safe. I then looked through the ensuite window and saw a man standing outside.
“I fired into the ground in his direction and headed outside. I then saw two men climb over the wall. When I turned around I saw the third suspect. He had some of my tools with him.
“He was standing against the wall and looked as if he wanted to run but he didn’t take that chance.
“He knew I would shoot at him. He gave me a bit of difficulty as I was trying to handcuff him but I overcame that.”
The suspect was charged with housebreaking with the intent to steal and theft.
He will appear in the Howick Magistrate’s Court tomorrow (Thursday). Moodley has been robbed twice in two years. He said the safest thing to do was install laser beams around his property.
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MEANWHILE, provincial police spokesman Colonel Vincent Mdunge said if a member of the public was trapped inside his home and could raise an alarm, he should do so.
He said if a person felt his life was threatened, he should surrender as goods could be recovered later.
But there was a flip side. “In normal circumstances house breakers are not tough or strong.
“They are youngsters who can be overpowered. They are the type of people who can fit through small windows. It’s a dicey situation on what one should do. Each case should be viewed on the merit of the situation,” said Mdunge.