A parolee from Grassy Park is back on his way to prison after being busted for stealing a car after recently being released.
The 27-year-old gang member was arrested by eagle-eyed cops in Grassy Park on Friday morning when they spotted him trying to get in the driver’s seat of a white VW Polo he had just stolen.
Police spokesperson Captain Wynita Kleinsmith said the man, who has already served a sentence for theft, was caught just minutes after fleeing in the vehicle.
“The officers were on patrol shortly before 6am to curb street robberies as commuters go to work. They stopped in Dove Road outside of a home known to be a stronghold for the Six Bobs gang.
“They saw the suspect scratching in the vehicle as he sat down in the driver’s seat. They knew something was suspicious and immediately started questioning him and he admitted to stealing the car in 5th Avenue earlier in the morning.”
Kleinsmith said the officers set out to find the owner and it was discovered that the motorist had left his car idling while he ran into a nearby store, and that is when the thief arrived.
“When we questioned him, he confirmed that he planned to sell the stolen vehicle. In the investigation, we found that he had recently come out on parole, and now he will go back to prison. The owner registered a case against him and he will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.”
Community Police Forum chairperson Melvin Jonkers said re-offending parolees were common in the community as little was done to rehabilitate them.
“We condemn the actions of the parolees, and as a CPF, we are well aware that they just come out and re-offend. Arrests and convictions mean nothing anymore when the Department of Correctional Services releases these people without properly rehabilitating them.
“Each time someone goes to prison ... all that happens is they are kept in a cage for a couple of years. As the CPF, we are never even informed when parolees are released into our community. At this stage, imprisoning people is nothing but a plaster over an open wound and does not solve the crime problem,” said Jonkers.