Four men who were caught after robbing a McDonald’s restaurant of R12 500 have been handed a hefty 22 years behind bars.
Luthando Mjabeka, 24, Yonela Mhlanganiso, 26, Anathi Nombuthuma, 33, and Thembinkosi Zumani, 29, were sentenced at the Bellville Regional Court on Monday after they were convicted on charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.
The State proved that in April 2015, the four brazen robbers held up staff at the McDonald’s restaurant in Durbanville and took the cash.
Cops stopping for a dite had arrested the suspects.
The officers had rolled into the 24-hour drive-thru about 4am, said police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut.
But after waiting for a few minutes without being served, the pair grew suspicious. Entering the restaurant, they found the staff tied up.
A search revealed four suspects in the bathroom, still holding onto the cash they had taken from the registers. One of them had a firearm.
A total of 11 witnesses identified them and despite the overwhelming evidence against them, the robbers claimed innocence.
Magistrate TG Marx sentenced all the accused to 15 years imprisonment for robbery, 15 years for possession of the firearm and a year for the ammunition.
He ordered the sentence for count three and eight years of count two to run concurrently with count one.
That means the accused will spend an effective 22 years in jail. The court also declared them unfit to own a firearm.
Despite some of the evidence only pointing towards accused number four, State Prosecutor Muhammad Mxolisi Noyi convinced the court to convict all the robbers on all charges.
He says this was to show mense the seriousness of armed robberies.
“I argued for a sentence and stressed that there were no reasons/circumstances persuading the court from deviating from the minimum sentence as prescribed in Act 105/97 (case law cited in support of my argument).
“I argued for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of the offence, its prevalence, the impact on the victims and the message to be sent to society.
“I asked the court to give the accused a lengthy imprisonment term which will serve as a deterrent to them and other like-minded potential people.”
Eric Ntabazalila, National Prosecuting Authority Regional Communications Manager, says they welcome the sentence.