Imagine waking up at the crack of dawn to help a neighbour make an urgent call, only to have your so-called neighbour grab your cellphone and run away with it.
That is what Craighall Park, Johannesburg, resident Alan Foley said happened to him when he gave a helping hand to a man who said he was a neighbour.
A young man, who introduced himself as "Lee", asked to use Foley's cellphone to contact his mother . When the phone was in "Lee's" hand he ran out of the building and disappeared in a getaway car, Foley said.
The incident took place at about 5.30am on January 17.
Angelo Du-Pont, who appeared in the Hillbrow Magistrate's Court on Monday, was arrested last week and identified by Foley as the man who took his cellphone.
Du-Pont, an 18-year-old student, faces one count of theft. He told the court he had no previous convictions or cases pending against him.
He has not yet pleaded.
"He's been doing the rounds in the area," Foley told TMG Digital.
"He gained access to our building by saying he was the son of a woman in one of the units, and had the correct unit number and the woman's name."
Others have posted on social media community groups that "Lee" had entered their complexes, claiming to be a neighbour, and allegedly asked for assistance in the form of lifts, money and other items.
"He is very convincing. All the people who have come forward were conned and willingly gave him money," Foley said, describing Du-Pont as "extremely well-spoken". He said Du-Pont had been spotted in Hyde Park, Houghton and Bryanston.
The case was postponed to next week.
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