Eight men arrested after a violent shootout with police and security officers in Centurion are back on the streets after being released on a court technicality.
Rekord received a tip-off that a high-ranking provincial police officer arrived at the station and personally claimed the docket, after which the eight suspects were released.
The suspects, who appeared in the Pretoria court on 31 October 2025, were initially facing serious armed robbery charges.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed on Monday that not only did the court release the suspects on a technicality, but that the investigating officer has since applied for a warrant of arrest to have them taken back into custody.
According to Lumka Mahanjana, the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) the matter was brought to court 16 on Friday the October 31, 2025 and was removed from the roll due to the fact that the police did not bring the eight accused before court within 48 hours after their arrest.
Police could not yet provide an explanation for the delay in bringing the suspects before court within the required 48-hour period following their arrest.
The group was arrested last week, on Tuesday, after a business in Sunderland Ridge, Centurion, was hit during an armed robbery that ended in a shootout with security personnel along the R55 near Raslouw.
The robbers loaded the stock into a truck and drove off, being escorted by a Kia vehicle.
Nevhuhulwi said the security was alerted, and they traced the truck and the vehicle on the R55 road near Raslouw in the Wierdabrug policing precinct.
Shots were fired between security personnel and suspects.
Nevhuhulwi said that in the process, one suspect and a security guard sustained gunshot injuries.
“The police were called during the shooting, and eight suspects, including the injured one, have since been arrested. Two firearms, the truck and the vehicle were also seized for further investigations.”
A Centurion security officer, Monitor Net’s JP Le Roux, survived the shootout.
According to the General Manager, Paul Gerber, the bullet that was fired and hit JP was found inside his bulletproof vest and was stuck inside the ballistic plate.
He was transferred to the Unitas trauma unit, and it was found that he sustained minor injuries.
Also read: Centurion hero survives shootout — bullet stopped by vest during R55 shoutout
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