Johannesburg - A 37-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years behind bars for robbery and escaping from custody, Gauteng police said in a statement on Monday.
Police spokesperson, Captain Xoli Mbele said William Buti Mohulatsi was sentenced by the Johannesburg Regional Court on Friday last week.
Mbele said the accused was appearing at the Johannesburg High Court for murder cases in August last year when he stabbed a 37-year-old correctional services officer twice in the upper body at the high court on the corner of Kruis and Pritchard Streets.
“The incident took place after the officer opened the holding cell to take the accused to court. He took a cell phone and wallet of the officer, uncuffed himself, cuffed the correctional officer and locked him inside the holding cell before he fled the scene,” Mbele said.
“The accused also robbed the security guard of his cellphone and gate remote. He ran out of the court and security guards gave chase. Community members and JMPD officers gave chase and apprehended the accused at corner Jeppe and Rissik Street.”