WC top cop Patekile welcomes hefty sentences handed to five Worcester robbers
The five robbers - who were part of a group of ten gunmen who disarmed cash-in-transit security guards and robbed a liquor store in Worcester six years ago - were sentenced to a collective 545 years in prison.
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CAPE TOWN - Western Cape Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile has welcomed the hefty sentences meted out by the Worcester Regional Court to five robbers.
Phikolomzi Mpafa, Wiseman Tsehlana, Bongani Ngubo, Phello Monyake, and Eliah Mpiti were sentenced to a collective 545 years in prison on Monday.
The five were part of a group of ten gunmen who disarmed cash-in-transit security guards and robbed a liquor store in Worcester six years ago.
Police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said five suspects were nabbed, while others fled the scene in a hijacked car.
Van Wyk said the sentences would run concurrently and each accused would serve 15 years direct imprisonment.
"The suspects were sentenced for robbery with aggravating circumstances, attempted murder, possession of prohibited firearms, possession of unlicensed firearms, and ammunition. In total, all the accused were sentenced to a collective 545 years [of] imprisonment."