"Pulled her hair and punched her": East Jerusalem resident violently robbed a spa employee

A meeting early in the morning outside a spa in Rishon LeZion between an employee of the place and a young man she knew from his visits to the salon turned, according to the indictment filed on Sunday, into a violent robbery. Namer Rashak, 20, from East Jerusalem, is accused of asking the complainant to walk with him, telling her he wanted to sleep at her place and marry her, and subsequently preventing her from entering her car, knocking her to the road, dragging her, pulling her hair, and punching her in the face until he managed to take her bag and flee.

According to the indictment, the complainant worked at a spa in Rishon LeZion. There was a prior acquaintance between her and Rashak due to her work at the place and his visits to the salon. About ten days ago, the complainant left the salon on her way to her car. Then Rashak approached her, asked her to walk with him, and told her, among other things, that he wanted to sleep at her place and marry her. The indictment claims that the complainant tried to evade him without success, and in the hope that he would leave her alone, she complied with his request to hug and kiss him.

Rashak, it is alleged, accompanied her to the car, and when they reached it, he prevented her from opening the door. At this stage, according to the indictment:

"The defendant grabbed and pulled the bag the complainant had on her shoulder, and the complainant fell to the road."

However, according to the charge, the attack did not end there. Rashak continued to hold the bag, "dragged the complainant on the road, pulled her hair, and punched her in the face." Finally, it is claimed, he managed to take the bag from her and fled the scene. In the bag, according to the indictment, were 5,400 shekels in cash and a bottle of perfume. As a result of the actions, the complainant suffered bruises all over her body and required medical treatment.

The complainant in her testimony identified the defendant as the one who attacked her and stole her bag. Rashak, for his part, does not deny his acquaintance with the complainant due to her work at the place and his visits to the salon, but denies the acts and denies that he was in the area of the salon at the time of the incident. It is further claimed that in his first interrogation he said that at that time he was at a gas station where he works as a cashier, but the security cameras at the place were checked and he was not seen there at the time of the incident. In another interrogation, he claimed that he was on his way from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, a version contrary to the location and call data. In his third interrogation, after the location data was presented to him, he stated that he had already said everything he had to say and asked to exercise his right to remain silent.