Suspected thief charged with threat to kill

A suspected petty thief might have earned himself a gateway to prison after supposedly stealing a tailgate, selling it and then stealing it again.

However, it was not 42-year-old William Vrym’s alleged gate-pinching antics that landed him in trouble but rather his sharp tongue.

The light-skinned suspect is said to have threatened to kill the man he sold the tailgate to after he informed Vrym they were both to report to the police.

On the morning of 10th July, Vrym allegedly uttered the following statement to one Keagile Lefaratlhatlha, “Fa e le gore o tla o romilwe, ke tla go bolaya! Ke tla go bontsha gore nna ke mang!’ If you have been sent, I will kill you! I will show you who I am!”

Vrym was reportedly taken in for questioning the previous day in relation to a stolen white tailgate.

However, he is said to have fled from the station.

His troubles allegedly escalated the next day when Lefaratlhatlha turned up at his house at Ntloolengwae ward, Molepolole, to inform him that the cops were looking for them.

An enraged Vrym apparently reacted by threatening Lefaratlhatlha, reportedly even punching his car window as the other man tried to escape.

Appearing before Molepolole Magistrates’ Court this Tuesday, the threat-to-kill suspect insisted he was in fact the victim.

“I went to report to the police that the same person came to harass me,” maintained Vrym, who has outstanding cases of store breaking and theft dating back to 2015.

Begging for bail, he told court he was asthmatic and had not taken his medicine since his arrest on Saturday.

“I told them that there was a treatment that I was taking. Since Saturday till now, I haven’t taken my medication. I was supposed to go for Covid-19 test as I have difficulty breathing,” stated Vrym, before accusing the cops of negligence.

It was not enough to secure his freedom, however, and he was remanded in custody until his next mention, set for 25th August.

Vrym’s problems could just be starting, as he is likely to be charged with theft of the tailgate.