The State has called for alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield and his wife Nicole Johnson to remain in jail, arguing that an attempted hit on a State witness was reason enough for their bail to be denied.
The notorious duo returned to the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for their bail hearing.
They appeared alongside Johannes “Bal” Abrahams, Denver Booysen and Jose Brand on various charges allegedly linked to a manhunt and attempted murder of a former employee of Stanfield who allegedly stole over R1 million from the couple.
They were arrested by the Anti Gang Unit in their Constantia home on September 29.
Last week it was revealed that the former employee, who is now a State witness, did not arrived at work on November 24, 2022 following a tip-off that Stanfield had planned to “kill him”.
The witness then hid his girlfriend’s BMW in a Milnerton complex and went into hiding.
According to the State’s case, Stanfield and Johnson embarked on a “witchhunt” and even threatened the father of the witness, klapped an unsuspecting neighbour and took the car without the owner’s permission.
Addressing the court on Tuesday, advocate Nathan Adriaanse accused the couple of telling liegstories about their medical conditions and noted the responses given by the Department of Correctional Services.
Stanfield told the court in a statement that he suffers from cholesterol, high blood pressure and sleep apnoea and needed a special oxygen machine, but Adriaanse said he was assessed at Brandvlei Prison and no risk was noted by the doctor.
The advocate said Johnson told the court that she had been refused care by nurses at Pollsmoor Prison, but this was refuted by the nurses who said that it was she had refused treatment.
Adriaanse said they also omitted to tell the court that in recent years they had gone overseas 50 times.
Adriaanse said as the couple’s son had been given the opportunity to study abroad next year, there was nothing that prevented them from “jumping ship”, as they face 15 years in jail if found guilty.
Addressing the safety of State witnesses, Adriaanse used the couple’s own affidavits to show that while Stanfield had denied any knowledge on the identity of the witness, Johnson clearly named the girlfriend of the witness, and claimed he had stolen money from her.
He said the attempted murder by Brand, who is an alleged hitman for The Firm gang, on September 7, provided enough evidence that the State witnesses were known to the accused.
“Clearly they are all familiar with the identities of the State witnesses despite denials by all the applicants in their affidavits,” Adriaanse argued.
“This is not a case where the State must consider the extent of influence [of witnesses] but this is a case where the court must consider the extent of harm that will be inflicted on the victims if the accused are released on bail.”
The advocate also highlighted the alleged attempt to prevent police from investigating the couple’s claims that only Johnson was able to change the fuel price at their Bishop Lavis petrol station, and provided a till slip showing that it was operating with the new fuel prices while she was in the tjoekie.
The hearing continues on Friday.