German citizen Jens Leunberg has been fingered in a high-profile gang case as an alleged messenger for triple- murder accused Wendell Petersen.
A self-confessed gangster and Section 204 witness testified yesterday that Leunberg – on trial for fraud and murder – had couriered letters between him and Petersen in May.
In a letter, Petersen allegedly asked the witness, who cannot be named for safety reasons, not to testify against him and his co-accused.
As the state witness testified in one courtroom in the Port Elizabeth High Court yesterday, just metres away Leunberg and his former common-law wife, Kristina Adler, appeared on charges related to the disappearance of Jeffreys Bay businessman Claus Schroeder in August 2009.
The self-confessed gangster was flanked by heavily armed officers as he testified against Petersen, 30, Jermaine “Dolf” Mitchell, 30, Glynn “Holland” Carelson, 30, Robin “Milo” Taylor, 21, and Graham “Gram” Kammies, 35, in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
The accused are all suspected members of the Dustlifes gang operating in the city’s northern areas, of which Petersen is an alleged leader.
They face charges including murder, conspiracy to commit murder and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. On September 14 2015, the men allegedly shot dead rival gang members Theodore “Tupac” Matthews, Rajen Naidoo and Jermain “Jabilo” Essau, at different times and locations across the city.
It was allegedly possible for Leunberg to ferry the letters between the two because the witness and Leunberg were being held at the Kabega Park police station, while Leunberg and Petersen were standing trial in the high court.
The witness did not know Leunberg’s name and referred to him only as “the German”.
This is not the first time Leunberg’s alleged prison antics were raised in a court by a Section 204 witness.
In August, “prison snitch” Mark Nielson testified that Leunberg had sought the help of convicted wife murderer Christopher Panayiotou to photocopy documentation which was later to be forged.
Just moments after the state indicated yesterday that it had no further questions for the witness, lawyers for Petersen, Mitchell, Carelson, Taylor and Kammies stood up one by one to indicate that their mandates had been terminated.
Defence attorney Alwyn Griebenow then informed Judge Mandela Makaula that he had been instructed together with Advocate Terry Price SC to take over the matter.
Leunberg is set to testify in his trial on Wednesday.
His attorney, Danie Gouws, said there was “absolutely no truth” to the allegations against his client.