Second time’s a charm for robbery conviction

MONTCLAIR SAP’s W/O Rico Naidoo secured a 30-year sentence for a hijacker through his investigation of a Montclair hijacking on Tuesday, 15 April.

Lindelihle Phumlani Richman Sithole (44) was part of a group of armed men who hijacked a charcoal grey Nissan in Roland Chapman Drive on Tuesday, 30 July. The men fled the area and proceeded to Umlazi, where they robbed people using the hijacked vehicle.

Umlazi SAP were alerted to the robbery and pursued the men. After a lengthy chase, Sithole was arrested. He appeared in Umlazi Magistrate’s Court on charges of armed robbery and attempted murder. Due to lack of evidence, the charges were withdrawn.

After his appearance in the court, Sithole was re-arrested by W/O Naidoo on a charge of hijacking. W/O Naidoo proceeded to take over the investigation of the armed robbery and hijacking cases. Intensive investigations led to Sithole being found guilty of armed robbery and hijacking in Durban Magistrate’s Court.

He received a 20-year sentence for hijacking and 15-years for armed robbery. Five years of the 15 years for armed robbery will run concurrently with the first count of hijacking and the remaining 10-years will run consecutively, resulting in 30-years’ imprisonment.

Montclair SAP’s communications officer, Lt Leopold Jojozi said: “Management as well as the staff of Montclair police station applaud W/O Naidoo for his dedication to the case which has led to the sentence. This is a testimony to all the hard work done by Naidoo but by the station as a whole.”