A Bonteheuwel gangster (19) has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars for the murder of a rival gang member.
According to the Bishop Lavis police spokesperson, Captain Marie Louw, Nathan Fredericks is a known Junky Funky Kid gang member. He, along with an unknown suspect, gunned down 26-year-old Dwayne Fernandez in December 2015.
Louw says according to witnesses two men were standing on the corner of Dissel Street in Bonteheuwel and as the victim came riding on his bicycle along Citrus Street into Candlewood Street, they started shooting at him, hitting him in the lower back before fleeing the scene.
“The victim fell off his bicycle but managed to get up and run into the nearest house, where he collapsed and later died,” she says.
Louw says although the suspects fled the scene, hard work and attention to detail by detectives, including that of Detective Constable Sivuyile Yeli, eventually paid off.
She says while at Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court in January this year, Yeli noticed one of the suspects (Fredericks) in the holding cells. Yeli realised Fredericks fit the description of one of the suspects mentioned by the witnesses in the murder case of Fernandez, she says.
“The detective determined that the suspect was one of the men whom officers were searching for, and proceeded to inform Fredericks he is also mentioned in a murder case, and arrested him for the murder of Fernandez,” Louw says.
She says the other suspect is still at large and urges anyone with information to contact the police on 021 935 9802.
