Man, 35, gets 8 years for R4m grant heist in Parow

A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to an effective eight years in jail for an armed robbery in Parow involving R4 million in state grant money.

Yamkela Sima Jacobs was sentenced, in the Khayelitsha Priority Crimes Court, on Wednesday, to 12 years imprisonment, of which four years were suspended for five years, for robbery with aggravating circumstances, according to Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Zinzi Hani.

The case against three other accused in the case was postponed to Tuesday September 17.

Jacobs; Melikhaya Johnson Dlakavu, 44; Sphiwo Toba, 40; and Thulile Peter, 58, were charged with 13 counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances after they were arrested in February 2017 in the Western and Eastern Cape.

Warrant Officer Hani said Jacobs had changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on all charges on Thursday August 29.

According to Warrant Officer Hani, nine men approached security guards at the back of the staff entrance of Shoprite in Parow on Wednesday February 1 in 2017. They pointed guns at the guards, forced staff members into a staffroom, where their cellphones were placed in a bag, and then demanded to see the manager who they took at gunpoint to the safe in his office.

“Once in the office, the suspects demanded money. He told the suspects that there was no money in the safe. The suspects then took the money that was destined for the tills and placed it in bags," said Warrant Officer Hani.

“The suspects then threatened the manager further. He then showed them where the grant money was kept. The suspects took an amount of approximately R4 million and also placed it in bags."

Four suspects were subsequently arrested and more than R60 000 of the money was recovered, said Warrant Officer Hani. Four vehicles, including a minibus taxi, that were allegedly used for the crime, were also seized.