Henderson bail continue

The bail application of a Public Order Police member, who is also the son of the chairperson of the Northern Cape Civics Association, will continue in the Galeshewe Magistrate’s Court this week.

Ross Henderson’s son, John-Ross “JR” Henderson, and his co-accused, Rozario Mojaki, are suspected of being involved in a robbery and shooting incident at Cheapest Supermarket in Roodepan during the early hours of November 7 2017.

“JR” Henderson and Mojaki are facing four counts of attempted murder and business robbery following the attack on four Chinese business people at their business premises in Roodepan.

The complainants were apparently sleeping in a back room on the premises when the incident occurred.

According to previous reports, the attackers robbed the victims of an undisclosed amount of cash, two cellphones and a laptop. They then apparently sped off in a green Jeep.

The State failed on Friday to have bail proceedings held in-camera, thus preventing the media from reporting on it, after indicating to the court that the investigating officer said that there was some information which could not be made public.

Both Mojaki and “JR” Henderson are currently in police custody, after the latter handed himself over to the police on November 14. Mojaki was arrested on November 7, the same day that a raid was conducted on the home of Ross Henderson in Royldene.

Both accused, in their statements, denied any involvement in the incident.

Mojaki, in his statement, said that he was never near the area where the crime took place and that the police forced him to incriminate himself and “JR” Henderson.

He claimed that he was assaulted, threatened and taken to the scene of the crime. Mojaki added that he had since opened a case with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).

“JR” Henderson, in his statement, said he was on duty when the incident occurred. He said he was first informed that he would merely be questioned on his whereabouts on the night of the incident and only found out later that he was a suspect in the matter.

According to Constable Bennett Sebegeilwe, a case was opened by a police officer after the complainants (in the robbery) were hospitalised after suffering several injuries when they were shot during the incident.

“The complainants were admitted to hospital after the robbery because they were shot during the incident. According to the owner of the store, they were sleeping in the back room when they heard glass breaking.

“The business and home of the complainants are situated in the same yard. The complainant went to open the door and noticed an unknown person inside the yard. The complainant tried to close the door, but the person started shooting at him.

“Although the attacker kicked the door while shooting, the complainant managed to block it.

“There was a second attacker at the scene and he was also armed. After they forced open the door the complainant was shot three times in the arm.

“The attackers then entered the room while the wife of the complainant was sitting on the bed. The attackers kicked the complainant and threw him out of the room. One of them went outside while the other remained in the room.

“The wife of the complainant was then shot in the arm,” said Sebegeilwe.

He testified that the attackers took R7 000, two cellphones and a laptop from the room.

They also demanded the keys to the shop, but the complainant told them that his brother, who was not on the premises, had the key.

Two of the suspects pointed their firearms at the complainant and threatened to kill him. When the complainant’s wife ran towards him, they shot him in the back of the neck.

According to Sebegeilwe, the complainant did not know the identity of his attackers.

He said Mojaki was arrested after information was received linking him to the incident.

“Informers told us that a person with the name ‘Zaza’ was involved in the robbery and they gave us an address.

“It was later established that Zaza is Mojaki, who admitted to being part of the robbery. Mojaki, however, said he was with JR (Henderson),” he said.

According to Sebegeilwe, Mojaki was the person who implicated “JR” Henderson in the crime.

“Mojaki stated that ‘JR’ Henderson burnt the cellphones. Police officers told Mojaki to take them to the scene where the cellphones were burnt. The police found the burnt cellphones in Green Street.

“The crime scene investigator took the cellphones and family members of the complainants later identified the cellphones as the ones that were stolen,” he said.

Sebegeilwe said a footprint found at the scene matched that of the shoes Mojaki was wearing at the time he was arrested.

He said a night-vision lens, believed to have been in the possession of “JR” Henderson, was also found at the scene of crime.

“A black school bag was found on the premises the day of the robbery. It contained a knife, another small black bag and something similar to a stun grenade. The small black bag contained a night-vision lens.”

Members of the Public Order Police Unit and Tactical Response Team usually use these lenses.

“The serial number on the lens indicated that it was booked out by ‘JR’ Henderson on August 7 2017. Although ‘JR’ Henderson did not return the lens, there was no case opened to indicate that the lens was stolen.

“We went to look for ‘JR’ Henderson at his house, but could not find him. He handed himself over to the police the next day,” Sebegeilwe said.

He, however, failed to provide clarity on the description of the vehicle used during the incident.

“According to the security guard who was first on the scene, a Jeep or Land Rover was parked close to the store. The driver of the vehicle then drove towards the security guard, who stopped the vehicle.

“The driver told him that he had fallen asleep inside the vehicle. According to the guard, ‘JR’ Henderson was not the driver. Our investigations are ongoing and more arrests are expected,” he said.

The case continues.