Teenage gangster sentenced to 12 years for murder

A 17-year-old gangster, linked to the Spot Bouer gang, was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for murdering a taxi driver in 2018.

The teenager, who cannot be named as he is a minor, was sentenced in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court on Thursday for murder, robbery and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The youngster is also standing trial for another murder committed in January 2017 in Bethesldorp.

The teenager was given 12 years imprisonment for murder, six years for robbery and five years for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The robbery and possession charges will run concurrently with the murder sentence.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the teenager had murdered a taxi driver Ralph Vorster, 35, on June 12 2017 after Vorster picked him up in his taxi in Barberry Drive, Bethelsdorp.

“The [then] 15-year-old teenager produced a firearm. The conductor was ordered out of the vehicle. Vorster was shot several times while seated in the taxi,” she said.

“Two weeks later, the 15-year-old suspect was arrested by the Visible Gang Intervention Team in Lingelihle Street in Bethelsdorp.”

The teenager is awaiting trial for the murder of Jermaine Levack, 21. Levack was killed while sleeping in a shack in Foxglove Avenue, Bethelsdorp on 24 January 2017.

“The suspect was on the run since the alleged commission of the crime. At the time of the shooting, a nearby resident woke to a bang followed by multiple gun shots.

"The accused was arrested and charged for Levack’s murder after his arrest in June 2017,” Naidu said.

The teenager is due to appear in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court on July 15 for Levack’s murder.

Mount Road Cluster Commander, Major-General Thembisile Patekile commended investigating officer Sergeant Xolani Peta for his work.

“As a society, we need to nurture our children in the right direction,” he said.