Six men have been slapped with a harsh jail term of 640 years behind bars after they went on a shooting spree in Randfontein in 2011.
During this time the gang conducted numerous house and business robberies while armed and shot at victims on more than one occasion.
The suspects were convicted on 19 July and sentenced on 24 July by Acting Judge Mudau at the South Gauteng High Court.
The men were found guilty on 21 charges ranging from armed robbery, attempted murder, house robbery, kidnapping and possession of unlicensed firearms.
John Thale (33) was sentenced to 115 years behind bars on nine charges, Itumeleng Nkomo (27) was handed a jail term of 120 years on 11 charges, Itumeleng Menwe (25) got 105 years on nine charges, Daniel Leotlela (25) was sentenced to 105 years on a count of nine charges.
Accomplices also implicated are Tshepo Nkomo (26) who was sentenced to 115 years on 11 charges and Tumelo Molefi (23) who was sentenced to 80 years on six charges.
According to Randfontein SAPS spokesperson Captain Appel Ernst, the successful breakthrough follows months of hard work and thorough investigations by Randfontein police officers.
“The men committed a series of crimes in Randfontein.
“The police followed up on a complaint received and conducted investigations, which led to the suspects being linked positively to numerous crimes.
“Following this the police executed a massive operation in which the entire group was arrested,” says Ernst.
She adds that investigating officer Karen Nel was able to cement the case further when she linked the suspects to the crimes with the assistance of ballistic evidence and identification parades.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) together with the Randfontein SAPS Acting Station Commander Colonel André de Bruin congratulate the officers who executed the initial arrest and the Investigating Officer Nel for the hard work and commitment in this case.
