An accused who was found guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances by the Kimberley Regional Court was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment this week.
AN ACCUSED who was found guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances by the Kimberley Regional Court was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment this week.
Police spokesperson Captain Olebogeng Tawana said the accused, Edmund Sean Bhima, 42, was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
He stated that the incident took place in October 2019 when the accused, along with his accomplice, robbed a local dealership of two Toyota Land Cruisers to the value of R968,800.
Tawana said the accomplice was still on the run.
“On the night of the incident, the accused and his accomplice accosted the security guard at a gunpoint, tied him up and fled the scene in two Toyota Land Cruisers. The accused was in the company of his accomplice during the commission of the crime,” said Tawana.
“Northern Cape Organised Crime unit members were immediately activated, where they later tracked the vehicle on the N8 in the direction of Bloemfontein. The team closed in on the accused, found him in possession of one Toyota Land Cruiser, while the other Land Cruiser was found abandoned close to a hotel in Bloemfontein.”
Tawana added that the suspects were at the dealership earlier the same day, pretending to be interested in purchasing the vehicle.
“They returned later that day to commit the robbery.”
The Northern Cape acting deputy provincial commissioner for Crime Detection, Brigadier Nicky Mills, welcomed the sentence and commended the investigating officer, Constable Ndubula, for his “meticulous investigative work”.
Mills also applauded the National Prosecuting Authority and the Department of Justice for putting the accused behind bars.
