Soldier suspected of fabricating assault and gun theft
Investigators believe serviceman faked story about attackers who grabbed his M-16 rifle, sold piece himself
An IDF soldier who claimed that his M-16 rifle was stolen from him by masked assailants was arrested on suspicion that he made the incident up and had willingly passed on the weapon to others, police said Wednesday.
The soldier reported the alleged theft on Monday, claiming the weapon was taken as he did guard duty near the Mishmar Hanegev junction in the south of the country. His claim prompted a large police operation to catch the suspected thieves including roadblocks and a helicopter.
“During investigation by police a suspicion was raised that the soldier, allegedly a victim, was involved in the theft of the weapon and its passing on to someone else,” police in a statement.
He was arrested Tuesday and questioned at the Rahat police station.
The soldier, who lives in the south of the country, told investigators that he was sent to do guard duty at a bus stop near the base where he had recently been deployed, Hadashot news (formerly Channel 2) reported.
As his guard duty was coming to an end a Toyota car drove up, and a masked man got out and told him in Hebrew to drop his weapon, the soldier claimed. Two more masked men then exited the vehicle while the driver stayed inside. The three men attacked him, took the rifle and escaped in the car, he claimed.
On Wednesday the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court extended his remand until December 3.
Attorneys for the soldiers said “he is fully cooperating with his investigators, and detailed what happened to him. In our opinion his version will be confirmed soon,” Hadashot reported.
