Gang boss killers to be sentenced

The defence counsel for one of the men found guilty of the murder of known gang leader and drug lord Donovan “Staal” Berry, told the Port Elizabeth High Court on Friday he was struggling to defend his client’s actions.

The defence advocate for Elgershin Goliath, Robin O’Brian, said he found it difficult to convince the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life.

He said he wished there were compelling and substantial circumstances to present to the court and asked it to take into consideration Goliath’s personal circumstances when handing down sentence.

Goliath, 31 – along with Nealon Redhouse, 21, and Deon Harmse, 25 – were found guilty in July of the May 2016 murder of Berry.

While Goliath was convicted only on the charge of premeditated murder, Redhouse and Harmse were convicted on additional charges of the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Redhouse and Harmse had pleaded guilty to the charges at the beginning of the trial, but state prosecutor Mark Driman told acting judge Nicholas Mullens that the state rejected their guilty pleas on the basis that there were inconsistencies in their pleas and the evidence before court.

On Friday, during arguments in mitigation and aggravation of sentencing, O’Brian asked the court to take into consideration the socio-economic background of Goliath while the defence advocate for Redhouse and Harmse, Khaya Saziwa, said his clients had similar upbringings.

Saziwa asked the court not to consider his clients’ previous convictions, which included murder, attempted murder and housebreaking with the intent to commit murder, as these crimes were committed after the murder of Berry.

Redhouse and Harmse were convicted of the June 2016 murder of Aaliyah “Angel” Tee, 12, and the attempted murder of her father, Edmund, and mother, Candice.

The Tees were witnesses to the murder of Berry, who was shot numerous times in the head and upper body outside a shop, across the road from the Tees’ Barberry Street, Bethelsdorp, home.

Both men are currently serving 47 years for the various crimes they have been convicted of.

Saziwa asked the court to order their sentences for the Berry murder to run concurrently with what they are currently serving.

Driman told the court that all three men were heartless criminals and killers and that being convicted of premeditated murder was in itself an aggravating circumstance.

The men are expected to be sentenced on Monday.