Senior police officer's son accused of stealing NIS 160,000

An indictment was filed on Sunday in the Hadera Magistrate's Court against the son of a senior police officer and his two accomplices for stealing approximately NIS 160,000 from an employee of a supermarket chain who was involved in collecting redemption money from the branches.

According to the indictment, the three culprits are 32-year-old Dudu (David) Levy from Moshav Shumra, the son of Sub-Inspector Ran Levy, the police officer of the Northern District, as well as two residents of Migdal Hamemek - Tal Fahima, 28, and Sharon Nazri, 42.

They allegedly followed the funds-collecting manager around as he gathered funds from the supermarket chain Ma'ayan 2000. The surveillance, which began at the chain's branch in Migdal Ha'Emek, continued in the town of Rekhasim, and up to the branch next to the town of Harish - where the theft was committed.

Details of the case

According to the indictment, at around 12:00 p.m., the manager parked near the supermarket branch on Hatana Street in Harish and entered the store. A short time later, the three alleged attackers arrived and parked at a sharp angle facing toward the road, making it easier to drive away after the theft.

Levy, who was driving, stayed in the car with the engine running and Fahima and Nazri got out of the vehicle wearing hoodies and approached the manager's vehicle, acting as lookouts.

At this point, according to the indictment, Fahima smashed the rear door window and took money bags containing NIS 157,581 in cash as well as checks amounting to several thousand shekels. The indictment states that after that they ran to their car and Levy drove them away from the scene.

However, detectives were in pursuit, following them ahead of time, and arrested them just outside of Harish. The money was seized and so was a face mask, a scarf and the device used to break the car windows.

During the arrest, Fahima and Nazri maintained the right to remain silent. Later on, Nazri told the investigators that he would have told them everything, but he was afraid of the other two. Levy admitted that he drove, but told the investigators that he had had plans to go shopping and take a trip in the north with his wife and children.

Levy went on to say that he only got involved in the nefarious scheme because Fahima asked him to drive him "to errands" without telling him the nature of those errands, and where they were going to go, as well as "the driver "The same all the way. He did not know how to explain to the investigators how he gave up a day off with his family in order to drive for those arrangements of Fahima when in practice no arrangements were made.

Fahima has seven previous convictions for crimes of serious violence, weapons, property, drugs and more, as a result of which he served prison terms. Nazri has six previous convictions. 

Statements from legal representatives

"We have served in the police force for enough years to understand that [police] here acted with excessive zeal in a way that we have not seen before," Levy's attorney Etti Kharif told Walla News in response to the event.

"This reckless act is In complete opposition to the guidance of the state attorney and the arrest law,"Kharif added. "We will work for the immediate release of our client and his acquittal, and we will soon prove that there was nothing wrong with his innocent conduct."

Lawyers Yossi Cohen and Aviad Hait representing Tal Fahima said that "the court chose to order the release of our client and for good reason. All of our factual, legal and circumstantial arguments were accepted and adopted by a judicial tribunal and the decision speaks for itself.

"From day one we cried out that the picture conveyed by the investigative unit is far light years from the authentic picture."