Three skelms on a motorbike targeting youngsters in Athlone and Manenberg saw their gat on Monday night when they crashed their bike while being chased by wakker neighbourhood watch patrollers.
The dramatic arrest along Jakes Gerwel Drive saw the trio flip their motorbike as they crashed into a barricade.
Abdurachman Govind of the Greenhaven Neighbourhood Watch claimed the trio had been moving across various communities looking for victims carrying cellphones.
He said that video footage was obtained of a robbery in Antwerpen Street, where a youngster came under attack by the skelms while walking in the street with his cellphone.
“This incident happened at around 6pm and it was put out on our chats to tell the members to keep an eye out,” Govind explained.
“One of our guys was coming home when he spotted them and started following them. They moved all through Gatesville, Rylands, and then went to Bridgetown.”
According to a representative of the Bridgetown Neighbourhood Watch, it was established that the trio held up two laaities at gunpoint.
“They were in Bridgetown and tried to rob a girl and boy. They wanted the girl’s cellphone and she threw it over a wall”, the representative, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
“The one guy jumped over the wall but he could not find the phone and they stole the male’s Nike jacket and ran away.”
Govind said a member established that after robbing those laaities, the skurke moved to Greenhaven before heading back to Bridgetown, and that’s when a patroller spotted them.
“He started chasing them and that is when they flipped their bike in the air and crashed into the barricade.
“There were three people on one bike and two suspects got away. Because the crash happened in Manenberg’s precinct, the one suspect who was caught had to be taken there,” Govind said.
“The male victim from Bridgetown identified him and he was still in possession of the [stolen] Nike jacket.”
Police spokesperson Ian Bennett has confirmed the arrest: “A 25-year-old suspect has been arrested for robbery.
“He is accused of robbing a victim in Fink Road, Bridgetown but was arrested in our area. The docket will be transferred to Athlone SAPS.”