Pretoria - A convicted criminal out on parole has racked up multiple hijacking-related charges since he was rearrested in March and granted bail, Gauteng police said on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old Mamelodi man was released from prison on parole in December 2016, after serving sentences for possession of drugs and motor-vehicle related offences, Captain Daniel Mavimbela said.
In March, he allegedly tried to hijack a Range Rover in Sunnyside. Shortly afterwards, police caught him driving a Toyota Corolla. He had the keys to the Range Rover in his possession. Bank cards found in the Toyota belonged to the owner of a Mercedes Benz AMG, who was hijacked in Sunnyside a few days earlier.
The Toyota Corolla was hijacked in Garsfontein about a month earlier.
The Pretoria Magistrate's Court released him on bail for the Land Rover case. Sunnyside police were adding more charges to his case. He would be back in court on June 21
Mavimbela said since the man’s arrest, there had been a noticeable decline in hijackings in Sunnyside.
Last month, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula called for repeat offenders to be profiled and for their information to be kept on record and included in the bail system. He said this after it emerged that the man who allegedly hijacked and kidnapped Deputy Correctional Services Minister Thabang Makwetla was out on bail for another hijacking charge at the time.
Mbalula criticised the courts and magistrates for giving bail to “recycled criminals”. The loopholes that allowed repeat offenders to get bail or have their cases withdrawn had to be closed, he said.
News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/charges-mount-against-alleged-paroled-hijacker-20170613
The 37-year-old Mamelodi man was released from prison on parole in December 2016, after serving sentences for possession of drugs and motor-vehicle related offences, Captain Daniel Mavimbela said.
In March, he allegedly tried to hijack a Range Rover in Sunnyside. Shortly afterwards, police caught him driving a Toyota Corolla. He had the keys to the Range Rover in his possession. Bank cards found in the Toyota belonged to the owner of a Mercedes Benz AMG, who was hijacked in Sunnyside a few days earlier.
The Toyota Corolla was hijacked in Garsfontein about a month earlier.
The Pretoria Magistrate's Court released him on bail for the Land Rover case. Sunnyside police were adding more charges to his case. He would be back in court on June 21
Mavimbela said since the man’s arrest, there had been a noticeable decline in hijackings in Sunnyside.
Last month, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula called for repeat offenders to be profiled and for their information to be kept on record and included in the bail system. He said this after it emerged that the man who allegedly hijacked and kidnapped Deputy Correctional Services Minister Thabang Makwetla was out on bail for another hijacking charge at the time.
Mbalula criticised the courts and magistrates for giving bail to “recycled criminals”. The loopholes that allowed repeat offenders to get bail or have their cases withdrawn had to be closed, he said.
News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/charges-mount-against-alleged-paroled-hijacker-20170613
