93-years jail term for one of SA’s ‘most wanted criminals’
The hard work and dedication of Lieutenant Colonel Alet Pratt pays off after one of the most wanted criminals are convicted with 93 year's imprisonment.
One of the country’s most wanted criminals has been sentenced to 93 years’ imprisonment, following the hard work and dedication by a Pretoria north detective.
Eugene Thapelo Lebona was convicted and sentenced on various charges following meticulous, painstaking detective work.
He was found guilty on 16 charges including theft of a motor vehicle, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of a stolen Toyota Fortuner, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, theft of golf clubs and the theft of a Harley Davidson during a house robbery.
Head of detectives at Sinoville police station Lieutenant-Colonel Alet Pratt not only walked the extra mile on the case against Lebona in the Pretoria regional court but also made personal sacrifices over four years.
After four months of intensive investigation after the docket was handed to Pratt, Lebona was arrested in the house he rented in the Midstream Estate on 18 February 2014.
Lebona had cases against him from 2003, in Welkom, Orkney, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg.
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According to the deputy chairperson of Gauteng provincial community policing Vernon Smith, Lebona was among one of the most wanted criminals in South Africa at the time.
“We don’t have enough words to express our sincere gratitude to Lt-Col Pratt for her dedication and determination to see the case through. It is detectives like Pratt who are the unsung heroes of the South African police service that most South African hear very little about. She worked hard to ensure that there is one less house robber to worry about so that all South African’s can sleep safely at night.”
“All of us tend to criticise officials of the SAPS very easy when we believe they did wrong, but we never acknowledge and praise those who did excellent work,” said Smith.
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