A passionate plea to be released on bail did not sway the pendulum in Patrick Patrese Jones’s (55) favour. His application was refused this week.
Jones appeared in the Hendrina Magistrate’s Court for bail application on Monday September 18. He was then transferred from the Hendrina holding cells to the Middelburg ones.
Jones was on the run from the police for 10 months after it became known that he and his cohorts, who were allegedly involved in defrauding Eskom out of millions of rand, were to be arrested.
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In February the Hawks, after an investigation of theft of around R14.9m, which was allegedly stolen from the power utility, arrested his brother, Godfrey Jason Jones (46), his mother, Rabela Sarah Jones (71), his former girlfriend, Maria Centeio (53), and a former senior buyer at the power utility, Thandeka Nkosi.
Patrick, however, managed to avoid arrest by the Hawks.
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At the time all the suspects, except for Sarah, were granted bail of R100 000. Due to ill health, she was granted
R30 000 bail.
During the past 10 months, Patrick managed to stay one step ahead of the law enforcement agencies by commuting between his hiding places in Mbombela and Gordon’s Bay in the Western Cape.
Shortly before the arrest of the suspects, the Asset Forfeiture Unit in Mpumalanga managed to seize a number of properties and vehicles to the value of around R19m, and froze the bank accounts of Patrick and his co-accused. Patrick’s fleeing spree came to an abrupt end when he was arrested by a team from the Western Cape Hawks at a luxury mansion in Gordon’s Bay where he was hiding.
He is currently in custody in Middelburg and will join his co-accused in the dock on December 4 in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in the town.
