A robber got more than he bargained for last week when he tried to hold a man up at knifepoint at Sunrise beach and landed up detained by his intended victim.
The man had been at Sunrise beach, Muizenberg, on Monday August 1, at 1pm, when he was accosted by a man brandishing a knife, demanding his cellphone, said Captain Stephen Knapp of Muizenberg police.
In return, the intended victim took out his legal firearm at which point the would-be robber dropped his knife and fled.
The victim, with the help of another person, turned pursuer and caught and held the man who was formally arrested by the police.
In another Sunrise beach incident, two friends had parked at the beach to eat their take-aways on Friday July 29, at 9.45pm. While there, a vehicle, with its lights off, drove into the parking lot and parked on the far side. This was followed by a second vehicle, also driving with its lights off.
The next thing they knew, the enjoyment of their meal was disturbed by men banging on the driver’s and passenger windows, smashing the passenger window. The attackers managed to pull the driver out who said that the one man had a big knife.
They stole cellphones, cash and house keys but not the car keys or the car.
The following two days there were further robberies on the beach. On Saturday July 30 at 10.45am a woman and her partner were walking on the beach when two men accosted them. They shouted, “Where is the money?” and the woman pointed to her bag. They took her iPhone and made her give them the password.
The next day, Sunday July 21 at 3pm, a woman and her friend were accosted by tall, thin man who threatened to stab them if they didn’t give him anything. They both threw down their cellphones.
The lifesaving hut in Beach Road, Muizenberg, was also targeted by criminals. Law enforcement officials walking past early on Tuesday July 28 saw that the door had been chipped away and the window broken, and clothing and medical supplies to the value of R2 000 were stolen.
* Marina da Gama has been something of a hot spot for break-ins recently. The first was on Thursday July 28, in Leervis Close around 3am. Residents were alerted when their alarm went off. Burglars had smashed the window of the room in which the daughter was sleeping and took a laptop.
Then on Saturday July 31, at 3.30am, a Marina da Gama couple had a horrifying experience in their Eastlake Drive home. They were sleeping when their alarm went off and, on getting up, the man saw two men outside, both with firearms. Before he could lock the door they had smashed their way in and the couple were held in the living room at gunpoint, forced to tell the robbers where items were kept.
That same night, in Zee Close, Marina da Gama, a house that was unoccupied at the time was broken into and a music centre, power tools, liquor and clothing were taken.
The other burglary reported for Muizenberg’s Sector 3 (Kalk Bay all the way through to Marina da Gama) for the week ending August 1 was in Dover Road, Marine Estate, during the day when the residents were out. The security gate and door had been forced open.
