Durban: A man linked to three separate counts of armed robbery in different areas in Durban will serve an effective 30 years in jail.
Mons Clifton Sithole, 30, of uMlazi, was sentenced to 15 years on each count in the Durban Magistrate's Court.
Sentencing on the third count will run concurrently with the sentence in counts one and two.
Sithole was found guilty of an Isipingo house robbery in 2016 and two jewellery store robberies in 2017. He made off with a collective R2 million worth of jewellery from Cherry Design Jewellery in Hillcrest and Platinum Jewellers at The Pearls in uMhlanga.
Deon Van Rensburg, manager of Cherry Design Jewellery, said: "What he did was very wrong, and the justice system has caught up with him."
He said he would have liked the trial to have ended sooner.
"We ended up going to the courtroom four or five times, and then we were not allowed in. It was a time-consuming exercise. This case should have been done and dusted a long time ago."
Van Rensburg said their store and the mall, where the business was located, had increased security to ensure another robbery did not happen.
The owners of Platinum Jewellers declined to comment.
Natasha Kara, the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority in KwaZulu-Natal, said they welcomed the sentence.
Sithole was first arrested in September 2016 following a house robbery in Isipingo, but he was released on bail. The victim, a policeman, was at his premises when he heard a noise in his lounge.
When he proceeded to investigate, he saw Sithole carrying his television. The suspect placed the TV on the floor and produced a firearm. The officer then drew his firearm, and Sithole fled. The policeman chased Sithole and shot him in the leg. Sithole was subsequently arrested by Isipingo SAPS and thereafter granted bail.
Sithole did not appear in court, and a warrant of arrest was issued. He evaded the police and continued to commit business robberies, one of which was at Platinum Jewellers on April 28, 2017.
At around 11am, Sithole and a second suspect produced a firearm and a hammer. The cabinets were broken, and the suspects removed the jewellery that was worth R800 000. The suspects were caught on CCTV footage entering the mall. There was, however, no cameras in the store.
Then, on June 25, 2017, Sithole and three others used a similar modus operandi at Cherry Design Jewellery. They stole watches valued at over R1.5 million. The robbery was captured on CCTV footage.
Detective Warrant Officer Bob Pillay, from the Provincial Investigation Unit in KZN, was allocated the cases.
A month after the second jewellery robbery, Pillay and his team received information that Sithole, wanted in connection with the robberies, was staying in uMlazi. Pillay and his team proceeded to the premises and arrested Sithole. They recovered two T-shirts, gloves and a bag that were used in the robbery.
Sithole was charged and appeared in the Durban Magistrate's Court where bail was subsequently denied.
Pillay also arrested him on the outstanding warrant of arrest in the Isipingo incident. The three cases were joined.
Sithole was subsequently found guilty on all three counts and sentenced.
Colonel Thembeka Mbele, a provincial police spokesperson, said: "Police are determined to bag successes on multiple cases of crimes in and around Durban areas. This can be achieved with the help of the communities."
The Post