The former police captain who helped secure the conviction of child killer, Dina Rodriguez, has herself been sentenced to 11 years in the mang.
More than 10 years after she was busted for selling police uniforms, stealing exhibits and other crimes, disgraced cop Esmerelda Bailey, 56, was sentenced after being found guilty at the Bellville Commercial Crimes Court this week.
The former Hawks detective was catapulted into the spotlight when Dina, along with her co-accused, went on trial for the murder of baby Jordan-Leigh Norton.
Dina was found guilty of masterminding the murder of the six-month-old baby, who was killed inside her home in Lansdowne on 15 June, 2005.
Dina had hired the killers, who pretended to be from a courier company, and offered them R10 000 for the heinous murder.
But in December 2011, the Hawks swooped on Bailey’s home in Brooklyn and she was busted in the undercover sting operation.
At the time, the Hawks revealed that Bailey had sold police uniforms and ammunition to Waleed Hendricks.
Former Hawks spokesperson, McIntosh Polela, said an agent bought unlicensed ammunition from Hendricks for R4 000 and Hendricks then pointed out Bailey as the person who supplied him with the ammunition.
Polela said when police had arrived at Bailey’s flat in Brooklyn, two known Kensington gangsters had been there.
Bailey was released on R10 000 bail.
Now a decade later, Hawks spokesperson, Warrant Officer Zinzi Hani, confirmed that Bailey was found guilty of corruption, possession of drugs, obstruction of justice and negligent loss of a firearm.
She was found not guilty on charges of possession of ammunition and defeating the administration of justice.
Hani says: “Bailey was sentenced to 11-years imprisonment for corruption, six months for the possession of drugs which was wholly suspended for four years, for counts 4, 6, 7 and 8 which were obstructing the administration of justice she was sentenced to two years imprisonment and 36 months imprisonment for the negligent loss of firearm.”
All sentences will run concurrently and she will serve a total of eleven years behind bars.
Hani adds that Bailey was fired in 2013.
“She was arrested by the Serious Corruption Investigation team in 2011 and charged. At the time she was attached to Serious Organised Crime Investigation.
“The accused was arrested during an intelligence driven operation where she tried to sell police uniform and ammunition.
“During a search and seizure operation, exhibits and case dockets were found in her apartment. She has been out on bail ever since. In 2013 she was dismissed departmentally.”