The following cases were recently finalised in the Boksburg/Vosloorus magistrate’s courts:
House burglary and theft
Bonga Madlolo (38) of Vosloorus pleaded guilty to and was found guilty of house burglary and theft on May 20.
On January 9, 2004, Madlolo stole a hi-fi, speakers and a toolset from another resident.
Madlolo was arrested on November 29, last year, and made his first appearance in court the next day.
He was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment, suspended for five years.
Theft
Bongani Mthethwa (29) of Vosloorus pleaded guilty to and was found guilty of theft on May 5.
On March 13, he stole a packet of beef stew valued at R88.19 from Shoprite at Chris Hani Mall in Vosloorus.
He was sentenced to a R1 500 fine or three months’ imprisonment, suspended for three years.
Theft
On May 18 a Tsakani woman, Votomi Malungani (29), was sentenced to 24 months of correctional supervision on a charge of theft.
She pleaded guilty and was found guilty on February 7. The charge stems from her stealing jeans and T-shirts worth R564.95 from Pep on November 17, last year.
Malungani will be under maximum house detention but the supervision committee may scale down or suspend the house detention at its discretion after six months of the sentence has been served. This is depending on the accused’s continued compliance with the conditions and her cooperation and the extent to which she shows she can be trusted.
Under the initial maximum house detention, she will have to produce proof of attending work, church, family responsibility or personal healthcare visits.
The sentence also prescribes 16 hours per month of free community service for 24 months (the supervision committee must specify the place where the community service is to be performed and may suspend a third of the hours to promote compliance with the conditions of the sentence).
The community service may consist of general labour at SAPS stations, provincial hospitals, traffic departments, old age homes, Department of Education offices, at the municipality or any other community centre as determined by the commissioner.
Assault
A 54-year-old Vosloorus man was sentenced to a R1 500 fine or three months’ imprisonment, suspended for three years, for assaulting a woman with open hands on September 9, last year.
BA Advocate Khumalo pleaded not guilty, saying he did not assault her, but was found guilty of common assault and sentenced on May 17.
Theft
A man, who stole a bank card from a work colleague’s locker and withdrew R3 000, was sentenced to a R3 000 fine or three months’ imprisonment, suspended for three years. Lehumo Wealthy Ndebele (33), of Daveyton, pleaded guilty to theft and was found guilty and sentenced on May 4.
He admitted that on January 29 he was at work in Lilianton when he took the bank card from the complainant’s locker, which was not locked at the time.
“I then proceeded to the bank where I withdrew an amount of R3 000 as I knew that he is using his date of birth for his bank card Pin and I knew it,” Ndebele said.
After this, he went to a shop and bought items valued at R582.76.
When the complainant received an SMS he realised his bank card was being used unlawfully and opened a case of theft.
The police went to the bank and viewed CCTV footage in which they saw Ndebele withdrawing the money.
He was arrested at work on February 28.
Malicious injury to property
Sheldon James Diedrick (31) of Reiger Park pleaded guilty to and was found guilty of malicious injury to property and sentenced on May 18.
On January 29, Diedrick was at the home of a man who is in a relationship with his previous girlfriend, in Sorel Street, Reiger Park.
In his plea statement, he said he had made arrangements with the former girlfriend to have access to their eight-year-old son but was denied this when he got to the boyfriend’s home.
“Out of anger and frustration I threw the glass water bottle I had in my hand in the direction of the house. The bottle hit a window of the house and caused a crack,” he stated.
Diedrick stated he was truly remorseful for his actions and prayed the court would be merciful towards him. He also presented a letter from the Children Have a Dream Foundation, in KZN, to whom he had reached out for help.
The letter stated in part: “The fact that our recovery centre is in KZN makes it so much better and easier to work with Sheldon because he’s thousands of miles away from all his challenges. We believe after a year of being in our programme he will return a responsible young man.”
Diedrick was sentenced to a R3 000 fine or three months’ imprisonment, suspended for five years.
Theft
On May 17, Monique Simmers (30) of Reiger Park pleaded guilty to and was found guilty of theft and sentenced to a R3 000 fine or three years’ imprisonment, suspended for five years.
On September 2, 2020, Simmers stole items to the value of R1 077.52 from Checkers Hyper. The items mainly made up of chocolates and sweets, also included a baby bag worth R499.99 and a pair of ladies slippers valued at R169.99.
“I concealed the items in my backpack and the slippers I wore while shopping. I was caught at the exit door with no slip for the items,” she said in her plea statement.
ALSO READ: Driver that killed man sentenced to 25 years
ALSO READ: Woman who stole chocolates, cellphones in Boksburg sentenced
