A habitual criminal and ex-convict was sentenced to five years in prison by the Alex Magistrates’ Court for the theft of two bottles of deodorant worth R32.
On 4 May the accused, Bongani Mathebula (31), who has six previous convictions, admitted to stealing the deodorant from Shoprite at Alex Plaza on 23 March this year. When he walked out of the shop the alarm went off and he was called back where he was searched and the items which he hadn’t bought were found on him, leading to his arrest.
In mitigation, he pleaded for a second chance, citing a problem with drug addiction as the cause for committing the crime. His previous five convictions were for theft and one for an assault committed between 2009 and last year for which he served time or paid a fine.
