Court told robbery plan went wrong
[caption id="attachment_108393" align="alignright" width="396"] THE ACCUSED: Sherwin Leander and Charne Brown in court yesterday. Picture: FREDLIN ADRIAAN[/caption]
Attack on Hoekstra was ‘supposed to be an easy job’
AN accomplice in the botched robbery attempt on Walmer Country Club manager Gerrie Hoekstra in 2010 was adamant yesterday that one of the accused acted of his own accord when he shot the former Eastern Province rugby coach.Rudolf Spandiel, 41, who turned state witness, said yesterday: “I told them [accused] if the sh*t hits the fan, I am going to tell them [police] everything about the incident.”
Spandiel was testifying in the Port Elizabeth High Court.
He was referring to the botched robbery attempt on Hoekstra, who was allegedly shot dead by Sherwin Leander, 29, of Chatty, while transporting R30 000 in cash from the country club to First National Bank in Ninth Avenue, Walmer, on November 22 2010.
Leander is being tried alongside Charne Brown, 32, of Newton Park, and Karen van der Merwe, of Kabega Park.
The trio were implicated by former co-accused Abduragmaan “Mani” Hendricks, 42, who is serving 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2013 to his involvement in the incident.
Spandiel said Hendricks had approached him, saying: “I have a job for us.”
“A few days before the incident it was myself, Mani and a man by the name of Gordian. They told me about this man [Hoekstra] who takes between R30 000 and R60 000 to the bank every Monday – and we could rob him then,” Spandiel said.
He said Gordian withdrew later from the planned robbery.
-Tremaine van Aardt
