A 22-year-old man was convicted on Monday on a litany of charges including murder, three counts of attempted murder and two related to being part of a criminal gang.
Walter Williams, who throughout his trial denied his involvement in the Nice Time Bozzas (NTB) gang and pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him, was convicted on two separate charges of wilfully aiding and abetting criminal gang activity, as well as performing an act aimed at contributing towards a pattern of criminal gang activity.
On Monday Port Elizabeth High Court acting judge Sureshni Moodliar found Williams had indeed been involved in the NTB gang and had willingly participated in orchestrating a planned hit on a state witness who testified in a separate gang-related matter, where his fellow NTB gang member, Maxwell Muller, was the accused.
During the trial an 18-year-old state witness, who is not being named as he is under witness protection, testified he was walking along Anita Drive, Helenvale, on December 9 2018, when he noticed another man running towards him, before shots went off.
It later emerged the man the witness referred to was Williams’s target, who was a state witness in the case against Muller and alleged fellow gang member Emmanuel Sampson, 22.
The court found that in the December 2018 shooting Williams had opened fire on his target, 17, who was a witness to another murder.
Williams’s target was able to escape injury while two bystanders, a 13-year-old and a 16-year-old, were shot in the hand and stomach respectively. Both recovered from their injuries.
During the early hours of the following morning Williams went to the Kobus Street home where Richard Marius Stuurman had been playing cards with a group of friends.
After consuming a glass of cold drink Williams, according to a state witness, stood up and apologised to the homeowner before pulling a firearm and shooting Stuurman in the head before leaving the house.
Stuurman died from the gunshot wound to the head.
Williams was arrested in January 2019 by the police Anti-Gang Unit.
It was alleged that Stuurman was an informant for a rival gang when he was shot and killed.
Williams was further found guilty on two counts of unlawful possession of ammunition.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani welcomed Williams’ conviction as a victory in the fight against gangs in the Helenvale area.
On Monday state prosecutor Rafiq Ahmed requested the matter to be postponed to Wednesday to allow the state to obtain Williams’s record of previous convictions, as well as to prepare witnesses in aggravation of sentence and victim impact reports.
Helenvale man found guilty of murder, attempted murder
Image: DEVON KOEN
A 22-year-old man was convicted on Monday on a litany of charges including murder, three counts of attempted murder and two related to being part of a criminal gang.
Walter Williams, who throughout his trial denied his involvement in the Nice Time Bozzas (NTB) gang and pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him, was convicted on two separate charges of wilfully aiding and abetting criminal gang activity, as well as performing an act aimed at contributing towards a pattern of criminal gang activity.
On Monday Port Elizabeth High Court acting judge Sureshni Moodliar found Williams had indeed been involved in the NTB gang and had willingly participated in orchestrating a planned hit on a state witness who testified in a separate gang-related matter, where his fellow NTB gang member, Maxwell Muller, was the accused.
During the trial an 18-year-old state witness, who is not being named as he is under witness protection, testified he was walking along Anita Drive, Helenvale, on December 9 2018, when he noticed another man running towards him, before shots went off.
It later emerged the man the witness referred to was Williams’s target, who was a state witness in the case against Muller and alleged fellow gang member Emmanuel Sampson, 22.
The court found that in the December 2018 shooting Williams had opened fire on his target, 17, who was a witness to another murder.
Williams’s target was able to escape injury while two bystanders, a 13-year-old and a 16-year-old, were shot in the hand and stomach respectively. Both recovered from their injuries.
During the early hours of the following morning Williams went to the Kobus Street home where Richard Marius Stuurman had been playing cards with a group of friends.
After consuming a glass of cold drink Williams, according to a state witness, stood up and apologised to the homeowner before pulling a firearm and shooting Stuurman in the head before leaving the house.
Stuurman died from the gunshot wound to the head.
Williams was arrested in January 2019 by the police Anti-Gang Unit.
It was alleged that Stuurman was an informant for a rival gang when he was shot and killed.
Williams was further found guilty on two counts of unlawful possession of ammunition.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani welcomed Williams’ conviction as a victory in the fight against gangs in the Helenvale area.
On Monday state prosecutor Rafiq Ahmed requested the matter to be postponed to Wednesday to allow the state to obtain Williams’s record of previous convictions, as well as to prepare witnesses in aggravation of sentence and victim impact reports.
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