Motorist on trial for running over parking attendant hands in plea deal

25 October 2019 - 11:39 By Dan Meyer
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Bruce Hendricks, left, and Johan Steyn, right, who is charged with attempted murder after allegedly driving over a security guard, has submitted a plea deal to the Stellenbosch regional court.
Bruce Hendricks, left, and Johan Steyn, right, who is charged with attempted murder after allegedly driving over a security guard, has submitted a plea deal to the Stellenbosch regional court.
Image: Philani Nombembe

A man accused of running over a security guard in a parking lot in Stellenbosch last year has submitted a plea and sentence agreement to the state. 

Johan Steyn was caught on camera arguing with a security guard who tried to convince him to turn his bakkie around, before accelerating and driving over the man. 

Steyn appeared briefly on Thursday at the Stellenbosch regional court. 

He was previously expected to plead not guilty to the charges of attempted murder, and not guilty to the alternative charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, after saying: "It is and has always been my contention that I have not committed any offence as alleged in this matter" in an affidavit provided during his pre-trial.  

Steyn's attorney, Bruce Hendricks, said that they were proposing a guilty plea for the assault charges. 

"We trying to negotiate a plea and sentence agreement," he confirmed. 

"We want to negotiate a plea of guilty. Essentially this entails that we plead guilty to assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. We then want five years direct imprisonment, which would be suspended."

This would mean that Steyn would avoid jail time and instead engage in anger management classes and "some form of historical justices".

He said that they expected to hear back from the state "in a week or two", at which stage the plea would either be accepted or the state would submit an alternative proposal. 

Hendricks said that his client has accepted that, based on the merits of the case and the wealth of evidence against him, a trial would not be in his best interests. 

"He would like to get it done and move on with his life. They all want to get on with their lives," he said. 

The case has been postponed until November 20 for the state to consider the proposal. 


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