Friday, 30 October will be remembered for the traumatic early morning cash-in-transit heist that led to the untimely death of First Help tow truck driver Shane Williams.
Also read: Outcome of the three G4S guards’ bail hearing
The armoured G4S vehicle was bombed near Gordon Road shortly before 9am. Shane was tragically shot dead when he crossed paths with the fleeing robbers on 14th Avenue. On the day of the heist, the three G4S security guards who were in the vehicle at the time of the heist were arrested after authorities recovered R3,2 million from under the seats of the bombed armoured vehicle and from dustbins on a nearby premises.
Since their arrest, the three men, aged 25, 28 and 40, have appeared in the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court three times, and their most recent appearance was on 18 January. The brief Monday morning court appearance was rather uneventful, with the accused only standing before the magistrate long enough for the case to be postponed for further investigations. The men will be appearing again on 2 March.
Initially, it was reported that the suspects would be appearing on charges of murder, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, possession of suspected stolen money and defeating the ends of justice. However, the charges have since been amended and each of the men will now only be facing a theft charge.
The bail hearing of the accused men saw the magistrate rule that each of them would be granted R5 000 bail and would be allowed to return to work after a 14-day self-isolation period. However, their positions at G4S were put on hold pending internal investigations and disciplinary procedures. The defence attorney representing the accused, Jannie Kruger, stated that despite the internal processes, all of the accused men chose to resign from their jobs at the security company.
