JARRED Silverman has been sentenced to five years in prison for attempted murder.
On Friday, January 12, the professional boxer learned his fate at the Palmridge Magistrate’s Court but is awaiting the decision by the court to allow him leave to appeal.
After the sentence was announced, a big gasp could be heard from Silverman’s girlfriend as well as from his mother who were sitting in the gallery, followed by audible sobbing for quite some time from his mother.
The sentencing comes after a lengthy trial that came to pass after a shooting in 2014 at a music festival (Deep in the Woods) in Alberton.
Read: Silverman’s sentencing postponed
A friend of Silverman’s sneaked a firearm into the festival in her purse, and when an altercation arose between Silverman and Bradley Swartz, a member of the family with whom Silverman had a heated feud going on, the gun was drawn, chaos ensued and three people were shot.
An off-duty police reservist who was among the crowd saw what was happening and shot Silverman several times, leading to Silverman spending the next 18 months in hospital.
Despite the severity of Silverman’s wounds, he made a full recovery and continued his career as a professional boxer, even during his trial.
The judge gave an overview of the court proceedings leading up to this point and what his conclusions were.
Other cases were stated as examples of what was in the court’s power in terms of sentencing and taking all this into account, the judge found that the severity of the crime was such that the defendant deserved to be jailed for a term of five years.
Silverman’s defence then asked to be granted leave to appeal and addressed the court to give reasons why this should be allowed.
Silverman’s defence stated that another court may very well come to a different conclusion, as there was no ballistics or forensic evidence that suggested that the bullet in the victim came from the gun that Silverman fired.
“Silverman shot into the ground, but the reservist shot several times and those bullets could have easily hit bystanders. That is why all the other cases of attempted murder were thrown out,” was heard.
The court was adjourned for a few hours to await the presence of the prosecutor, who never showed up.
After several hours of waiting, the prosecutor was still nowhere to be found and the case was again postponed and will continue on Friday, January 19, to ascertain whether or not Silverman will be granted leave to appeal his sentence.
The RECORD will be there to keep our readers updated and will report on all findings as the information becomes available.
Also Read:
https://www.citizen.co.za/alberton-record/150467/jarred-silverman-sentencing-postponed/
https://www.citizen.co.za/alberton-record/94047/deep-in-the-woods-trial-begins/
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