FOUR of the five members of the alleged criminal gang arrested for Plett's Lookout Deck murder in April will remain behind bars until they go on trial in the High Court.
Alleged gang leader and hardened career criminal Eric Diamond, 57, of Port Elizabeth was singled out as a "violent and dangerous man" by Magistrate Len Goosen when he ruled on a bail application by four of the five accused.
Diamond, Lubabalo Simakuhle, 26, also from PE, and Mvimbe Dube, 43, of Plett were refused bail on the grounds that they were a threat to the public at large, and might interfere with witnesses if released.
Goosen said Diamond's long criminal record and the serious charges against him mitigated strongly against the possibility of bail.
Furthermore, the state had built a strong case against the three men and they faced heavy sentences if convicted, giving them a strong incentive to abscond, Goosen said.
The remaining two accused are Sibongile Matebese, 32, who was granted bail of R2 000, and Gibson Ndandane, 41, who did not apply for bail. Both hail from PE.
The five men are accused of murdering restaurant hostess Beverley Sapphire, 47, in a botched armed robbery on April 21, and the armed robbery of Wybo's restaurant owner Wybo van Blommenstein and his 81-year-old mother at their homes in Keurbooms on March 31.
A charge of attempted murder has been added because Diamond allegedly fired a shot at the security guard in the Lookout robbery, which missed.
Investigating officer W/O Calvin Ross of the Organised Crime Unit said Ndandane had been implicated - by his co-accused - as the robber who shot dead Sapphire in cold blood as she was leaving the restaurant.
Ross also told the bail hearing that Diamond had been identified as the gang leader who allegedly supplied the other members with firearms.
Ross said police had taken statements from the accused in which they had either admitted being present when the crimes were committed or had tried to implicate each other.
(Visit www.cxpress.co.za and click on Issue 290 for news on the initial court appearance.)
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