Reghard Elmes (23), a security officer recently convicted of murder, was denied an extension of his bail in the Evander Regional Court in Mpumalanga yesterday.

Ridge Times reports that Elmes was found guilty on September 15 of murdering a man in 2022.

He was out on bail before his conviction but was immediately taken into custody following the guilty verdict.

Last week, Elmes applied for a bail extension until the date of his sentencing. However, regional magistrate Charmaine la Marque ruled yesterday that it would not be in the interests of justice to release Elmes, as a court had already convicted him of murder.

The conviction stems from a shooting on Nelson Mandela Drive in Secunda on November 23, 2022.

In court yesterday, La Marque reiterated her reasons for finding Elmes guilty.

“He shot five times, not once, but five times,” she stated.

La Marque said Elmes claimed he and his colleagues were acting on information about a house burglary. However, this information was neither reported nor confirmed by StratconRisk, the security company Elmes worked for at the time.

The magistrate said that according to evidence presented during the trial, Elmes and two other security guards initially tried to mark the victim with paintball guns but were unsuccessful. The three then pursued him in separate vehicles.

Witnesses testified that one guard tried to bump the man with his vehicle. In response, the man threw rocks at his pursuers, one of which struck Elmes, who then opened fire, shooting the man five times.

“I rejected the accused’s version of acting in self-defence, as he was the aggressor,” said La Marque.

“I applied a subjective test to assess why the accused might have felt threatened, especially when immediate backup, his colleagues, were just a few metres away. The question still remains: Why was the man shot five times?”

La Marque also addressed a bundle of social media comments she had received, which expressed public outrage over the case and support for Elmes. Some users threatened to stone the magistrate’s vehicle.

“I asked myself: Is this incitement against the law? I consider it serious and a form of interference with the administration of justice. The law is based on facts, not on social media or public opinion,” she said.

La Marque stressed that SA legal principles and judicial guidelines guided her decisions.

Elmes will be sentenced in the Evander Regional Court on October 31.

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