Alert magistrate catches out armed robber’s tall tale
An alert Cape Town magistrate shot holes in the defence of a couple implicated in an armed hijacking, resulting in a 15-year sentence for a 43-year-old man.
Western Cape police said on Wednesday that Peter Masheza was sentenced by the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court to 15 years imprisonment for robbery and five years for kidnapping, with the sentences to run concurrently.
On 8 August 2015, Masheza had asked for a light from a victim who was dropping off staff at approximately 9pm at Bosasa temporary housing in Mfuleni.
According to police, Masheza pointed a firearm at the victim and then drove off with the victim still in the vehicle.
Police spokesperson, Captain FC Van Wyk, said: “He drove with the victim around Khayelitsha. The victim was locked in a shack in Khayelitsha and was left there. Peter, with a female companion, was arrested in Nyanga by the Flying Squad Unit members who were busy patrolling in Nyanga.
“During the trial Peter tried to pin everything to the female companion and the female companion collaborated (sic) his story. However, the magistrate took the female companion for a drive as she claimed that she was driving the vehicle. It was proved that she could not drive. She did not even know how to put the vehicle into first gear.”Van Wyk said she came out with the truth when she learned that she had been caught out.
