Armed robbers and vandals had their day in court this week following successful arrests of two suspects in unrelated crimes, of robbery and malicious damage to property.
According to police spokesperson Captain Louise du Plessis, a suspect and well-known vagrant in Central Paarl, Carlton van Staden, was arrested by members of the K9 Unit on Friday (12 May) about 18:30 for the robbery of a cellphone earlier that evening.
“The complainant and a family member were playing in a park in Derksen Street when the suspect approached them,” she related.
“They started running, but the suspect gave chase and wielded a knife. The complainant dropped a cellphone, which the suspect picked up and walk away with.”
The family alerted members of the K9 Unit, who were patrolling the area, and the suspect was soon arrested on the open field at Paarl Taxi Rank.
He appeared in court on Monday 15 May on charges related to robbery and had been remanded in custody until 30 May.
In an unrelated incident a suspect identified as Dylan Reichgelt also appeared in the Paarl Magistrates’ Court on Monday on a charge of malicious damage to property.
His arrest followed after shattering the store window of a local grocer in Northern Paarl on Friday at 23:00, Du Plessis confirmed.
“A security guard in the vicinity gave chase and managed to reprimand the suspect,” she said.
“The suspect has been released and warned to reappear in court on 26 June.”
