Mulbarton restaurant murder case postponed till end of October

Daniel Roland, accused of murder and drug possession after he was involved in a shooting at Il Camino restaurant in Mulbarton in 2021, appeared for his postponed trial on October 8 and 9.

At his last appearance in February, Magistrate Habib postponed his trial till October due to transcripts and photographic evidence not being in order according to Roland’s defence.

When his trial resumed Roland’s lawyer Ashley van Heerden expressed her intention to withdraw herself as the defence as Roland had not been able to pay his legal fees.

“My superiors have instructed me to withdraw from this case as Roland has not been able to pay his outstanding debt with our firm,” said Van Heerden.

Habib urged her to reconsider as the trial would need to continue and Roland would be left without a defence in his case. Van Heerden then spoke to Roland and the decision to withdraw was upheld.

Roland outlined that he could not pay the fees as he had been a victim of cyber hacking which caused his accounts to be frozen.

Habib then explained to Roland that he would have to find another lawyer. “This trial has been dragging on for too long and the case will receive prejudice due to this,” said the magistrate.

Roland’s case was then postponed till October 9 so that he could find new legal counsel.

When his case was heard on October 9, Roland explained that he had obtained the services of a new lawyer, Mohammed Mayet. Although he was not available, he sent a representative on his behalf, Ebrahim Hoosein.

Hoosein asked the court for a postponement till October 29, which the court granted. The postponement was granted to allow Mayet to procure the transcripts for the trial.