Port Elizabeth - Three men convicted of the premeditated murder of known gang leader and drug lord Donovan “Staal” Berry, were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Port Elizabeth High Court on Monday.
Eldgershin Goliath, 31, Nealon Redhouse, 21, and Deon Harmse, 25, were found guilty in July of the May 2016 murder of Berry in which he sustained 37 gunshot wounds to his body.
Berry, was shot in the head and upper body outside a shop in Barberry Street, Bethelsdorp.
Goliath was convicted of the charge of premeditated murder, while Redhouse and Harmse were convicted of additional charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Redhouse and Harmse received 8 years each on their gun conviction which will run concurrently with their life term behind bars.
Redhouse and Harmse were also convicted of the June 2016 murder of Aaliyah “Angel” Tee, 12, and the attempted murder of her father, Edmund, and mother, Candice.
The Tees had testified that they witnessed Berry’s murder which took place across from their home.
In handing down sentence, acting judge Nicholas Mullens said that the men only had themselves to blame and their actions had consequences.
Mullens said Berry’s murder was “callous and brutal”.
“It was nothing short of a pre-planned assassination,” said Mullens.
The men had earlier claimed that they feared they might be next on Berry’s hit list. However, Mullens rejected their versions adding that no evidence was led in this regard.