Port Elizabeth police have arrested a robbery suspect after realising that he only lived five doors away from one of his victims.
The arrest follows the robbery of a 75-year-old woman in Couldridge Road, Schauderville, two months ago.
On Monday morning, detectives tracked down and arrested the 24-year-old man who lived only a few doors away in the same street.
According to officials, the breakthrough in the case came after the man’s fingerprints were found inside the woman’s home after the robbery.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the woman was home alone when the robbery happened shortly after 8am on May 30.
“She was attacked inside her house by an unknown man. The man broke a window in one of the other bedrooms to gain entry to the house. Once he was inside, he found the woman sleeping in her bedroom,” she said.
“To hide his face, he took a pillow from the lounge and held it in front of his face when he confronted her in the bedroom.”
Naidu said the suspect held another pillow over the woman's face when she woke up, while putting his fingers in her mouth to stop her from screaming.
“During this robbery, he managed to take four rings off her fingers. Once he had the rings, he jumped up and casually walked out the back door. The woman tried to chase after him but failed to catch up to him,” she said.
“Detectives on the scene managed to get fingerprints inside the house which link the man directly to the robbery.”
He was arrested by the Mount Road Cluster Detective trio task team at 4am on Monday.
None of the stolen rings, worth about R15,000, have been found.
The man is due to appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on charges of robbery and assault on Tuesday.
Man arrested for robbing elderly neighbour
Image: Pixabay.com
Port Elizabeth police have arrested a robbery suspect after realising that he only lived five doors away from one of his victims.
The arrest follows the robbery of a 75-year-old woman in Couldridge Road, Schauderville, two months ago.
On Monday morning, detectives tracked down and arrested the 24-year-old man who lived only a few doors away in the same street.
According to officials, the breakthrough in the case came after the man’s fingerprints were found inside the woman’s home after the robbery.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the woman was home alone when the robbery happened shortly after 8am on May 30.
“She was attacked inside her house by an unknown man. The man broke a window in one of the other bedrooms to gain entry to the house. Once he was inside, he found the woman sleeping in her bedroom,” she said.
“To hide his face, he took a pillow from the lounge and held it in front of his face when he confronted her in the bedroom.”
Naidu said the suspect held another pillow over the woman's face when she woke up, while putting his fingers in her mouth to stop her from screaming.
“During this robbery, he managed to take four rings off her fingers. Once he had the rings, he jumped up and casually walked out the back door. The woman tried to chase after him but failed to catch up to him,” she said.
“Detectives on the scene managed to get fingerprints inside the house which link the man directly to the robbery.”
He was arrested by the Mount Road Cluster Detective trio task team at 4am on Monday.
None of the stolen rings, worth about R15,000, have been found.
The man is due to appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on charges of robbery and assault on Tuesday.
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