Swift action from patrolling Grahamstown police officers led to the arrest of a suspect who had allegedly stolen all four tyres of one of the cars belonging to a local driving school.
Swift action from patrolling Grahamstown police officers led to the arrest of a suspect who had allegedly stolen all four tyres of one of the cars belonging to a local driving school.
The incident according to Pronto Driving School owner, Jan Strydom took place in the early hours of 13 May. Strydom who is no stranger to being a victim of crime was thankful that at least all his four wheels were recovered.
Speaking to Grocott's Mail soon after th incident Strydom said he had been a victim of crime 13 times in the past six years, which included an armed robbery at his office where a gun was pointed at him and his receptionist.
Strydom also cracked a few jokes about the incident, linking it to Friday the 13th. "One of my students asked me this afternoon, Jan, why are you so chilled about this? I said at least there was no gun pointed to my head this time and I got my wheels back. Although it's going to take me some time to put them back on because I have to lift that car off the ground," he said.
Strydom said he was pleasantly surprised when fellow driving school owners offered to help him during his time of need.
"During this day I had phone calls from Vino, Lady First and Albany driving schools offering assistance in any way, they offered to club together to buy me new wheels and it feels like someone has got my back in this town. It was quite an eye opener and I appreciate these three driving schools a lot more after this and I feel really grateful to them for that," he said.
Strydom also complimented Grahamstown police for their quick thinking and assistance with the incident.
"The police also did a great job. They were excellent, being at the right place at the right time and solving not just my problem but [dealing with incidents with]three other vehicles," he said.
Strydom said he believed one person was arrested by police at the time.
"My wife went and opened the case and the police went and took finger prints off the car at my house and they also took finger prints from the other vehicles," he said.
He said the police had caught a man carrying two tyres – the last of several allegedly stolen from three different vehicles.
"If he had got away with those two he wouldn't have been caught, because I guess he was done for the day," he said, adding that police were fast and effective and "we were treated very well at the police station".
Grahamstown police hadn't responded to questions at the time of going to print.
anele@grocotts.co.za
