Table View police traced a man accused of trying to abduct a teenage girl to the very complex where she stays.
The girl, 16, was walking to the shop on Saturday January 28, at about 8pm, when she noticed a stranger tailing her slowly in his VW Golf, said police spokeswoman Captain Adriana Chandler.
The man asked the girl to get into the car, but she refused and walked faster, while he continued to follow her.
She noticed the man was still following her as she walked home from the shop near Boy de Goede Circle.
This time, the man stopped his car, climbed out and grabbed the girl and tried to force her into the car.
She fought back, shouting for help and scratching the man’s face.
He let go and she fled, leaving her groceries on the ground.
The case was reported to Table View police on Sunday January 29.
The girl did not know who the man was, but police officers used camera footage from the shop to trace the suspect’s car to the girl’s complex. The owner of the car was living at the complex.
Police arrested a 46-year-old man at his home. He was due to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday January 31.
Table View police have warned that motorists are still making themselves soft targets for thieves by leaving valuables in unlocked cars as they run quick errands.
The time it takes to run a quick errand is all the time a thief needs to open a car door.
Items allegedly stolen recently include a laptop, clothing, a video camera, cellphones and sports equipment.
And it’s not always enough to stow valuables in your boot. Thieves watch their intended victims and will force the boot’s lock, as happened in one recent case, say police.
They advise motorists to make sure car alarms are activated, be alert to their surroundings and not flash valuables they put in the boot.
Hot spots for this crime are public parking areas, shopping malls, Parklands Main Road, Porterfield Road and Marine Circle.
Two men, aged 34 and 39, were arrested on Monday January 30 after Table View police received information about theft-out-of-motor vehicle suspects driving towards Marine Circle, Table View.
A chase ensued and Milnerton police managed to stop the two suspects who were in a white Toyota Corolla in Troy Close, near Joe Slovo, after the driver was racing into oncoming traffic trying to avoid arrest.
The passenger jumped out of the vehicle and started to run. Constable Mphumzi Dyantyi from Table View police station chased the suspect and arrested him. The driver of the vehicle was arrested by another policeman.
When the vehicle was searched, police recovered stolen property and the owner was traced and later identified the items at Table View police station.
Items thrown out of the window of the fleeing vehicle are presumed to be devices used to jam the locking system of vehicles. Sergeant Rowan Dowie recovered the items and it was handed in as evidence.
The two suspects were positively linked to a September 2016 Kraaifontein theft out of motor vehicle case and another Table View case.
Table View police spokesperson Captain Adriana Chandler said investigations are currently underway to establish links to other cases.
The suspects will appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court today, Wednesday February 1.
