Jewellery thief sentenced to 56 years in jail for theft and co-accused’s murder

A KwaZulu-Natal jewellery thief was slapped with a 56-year jail sentence on Thursday for burglary, robbery, murder and attempted murder.

Provincial police spokesperson Col Thembeka Mbele said one of the crimes committed by Sboniso Msomi, 33, was the murder of his co-accused.

“His sentence follows a series of cases that he had committed in the Kloof, Wyebank and Pinetown areas,” said Mbele.

“Msomi and his deceased co-accused were terrorising the homeowners and robbed them of their belongings.

“On February 19 2018, six males entered houses in the Pinetown area and robbed the occupants in the houses of TVs, cash, jewellery, laptops, cellphones and other belongings.

“The suspects fled the scene in their getaway vehicle. The police were immediately alerted and the suspects' vehicle was spotted travelling along the M13 in Fields Hill.

“The police officers from the K9 unit tried to intercept the vehicle but they were met by a hail of bullets. During the exchange of gunfire, five males were fatally wounded and one survived with injuries.

“Inside the suspects' vehicle, the police found three illegal firearms with ammunition. All the property that was taken during the robbery was recovered and positively identified by the lawful owners. It was established that the vehicle used was stolen during a house robbery that was committed in Wyebank.”

Mbele added: “A watertight docket was presented at court by the investigating officer from eThekwini District trio task team and it led to the successful prosecution of the surviving accused. The accused made several court appearances until his sentence.”

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