Trio arrested after Bay house robbery while accomplices escape

Two suspects who managed to get away from their alleged accomplices during a police chase in Uitenhage, following an alleged house robbery in KwaNobuhle on Thursday, are still at large. 

Police spokesperson Captain Gerda Swart said a 44-year-old woman, an employee at VWSA, was sleeping in her Nkohli Street home when the men struck at about 11.10pm.

“Five men arrived at the house in a red VW Caddy. Two of the men broke into the house by breaking the front glass window and opening the door.

"When she got up to look she was threatened with a firearm. They demanded the vehicle car keys before taking the plasma television and clothing. They then fled the scene in her Polo,” she said.

Shortly after the robbery, the woman alerted police.

“About 30 minutes after the robbery, the two vehicles, the Caddy and VW Polo, were spotted in Maduna Road and a short car chase ensued.

"The Caddy was stopped and three suspects arrested. The stolen television and clothing from the house were found inside the car,” she said.

“The VW polo, however, managed to get away.”

By 12.30am, the Polo was found abandoned in Sinyani Street, KwaLanga.

“The suspects already fled and the vehicle was handed in to be processed by our forensic experts,” she said.

In another robbery, shortly before 9pm, a mother and her son, 16,  were held at gunpoint inside their home in Kabonqaba Street, Motherwell.

Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said three men, at least one armed with a firearm, kicked open the front door while the two were inside.

“They were held at gunpoint and told to sit in the bedroom while the men ransacked the house.

"They took a plasma television set and cellphones before running off,” he said.

The three men arrested in the Caddy will appear in the KwaNobuhle Magistrate’s Court on Monday.