The Terrible Josters were dealt a terrible blow at the Western Cape High Court on Thursday when a gunslinging cop outed Horatio “Voudie” Solomons as the gang’s boss.
The nephew of Ernest “Ernie Lastig” Solomon is on trial with 11 other alleged gang members on a string of charges which include murder, attempted murder, drugs and illegal firearms, dating back to 2009.
The Elsies River constable, who may not be named, told Judge Owen Rogers that Voudie gave the game away at the murder scene of his pregnant girlfriend, Jade Daniels, 24, as he had not been known as a gang member before.
The four-months pregnant woman was gunned down in her home in October 2014 in Matroosfontein and died on the scene.
The cop, who was giving witness testimony on his arrest of Ziyaad Saafodien in 2016, stunned defence lawyers after being asked if he could identify any of the accused in the dock.
“I know Horatio Solomons, his alias is Voudie. I found out about him on the murder scene of Jade in Matroosfontein. His girlfriend was the deceased,” testified the cop.
OUTTED: Terrible gang member, Heratio Solomons in High Court.
“Voudie was at the house talking to Jon Piet, a known 28s gang member, and Jaggers from Kreefgat. He is also a 28.
“The person [Voudie] was speaking to dik dinge and that is when I found out who he is.”
Voudie’s lawyer seemed irritated as he questioned the cop about who else he saw at the murder scene and whether he disputed the fact that the scene was full of people because Jade’s father owned a car business.
“You have an attitude about you,” the lawyer stated, but the cop smiled and said he didn’t.
The cop also told the court about how he, along with his partner, arrested Saafodien on 13 April 2016 after he allegedly opened fire on a woman and her teen son in Sterretjie Street in Delft.
He explained that they chased Saafodien and he was nabbed after throwing his pistol in a nearby yard.
The police officer explained he had come from court that day and did not have any gloves or exhibit bags on him to pick up the gun, but explained he used a piece of paper to remove the magazine and cock the gun to release a round in the chamber in order to avoid getting his fingerprints on the weapon.
Saafodien’s lawyer tore a piece of paper from his notebook and challenged the cop to demonstrate how he did it without getting his fingerprints on the weapon.
ARREST: Ziyaad Saafodien 'opened fire on woman & son in Delft'
After Judge Rogers granted permission, the cop removed his gun from its holster and in under a minute completed the demonstration, not once touching the gun with his bare hands.
Chuckles were heard in the courtroom when the cocky cop put his gun back in the holster.