A 30-year-old man accused of the murder and attempted murder of two Community Policing Forum members, has been denied bail.
Jaen-Lee Pyne appeared in the Heidelberg Magistrate's Court in connection with the murders of Etienne du Preez and attempted murder of Flip Minnaar.
It is alleged that Du Preez and Minnaar were leaving a restaurant in Heidelberg when Pyne rode up to them on his motorbike.
"He shot at both men and sped off. After the shooting, Du Preez and Minnaar were taken to a hospital where Du Preez succumbed to his injuries," explained National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in Gauteng, Lumka Mahanjana.
She said Pyne handed himself over to police at the Heidelberg police station eight days after the shooting.
Pyne based his bail application on the premise that he is a businessman whose family relies on. However, this was opposed by State prosecutor Kuthelani Peter Mndanganeni, who said these factors were not extraordinary. Mndanganeni added that Pyne had a pending case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
He further asked the court to take into consideration the seriousness of the crime and that if granted bail, Pyne could evade his trial.
"During bail judgment, Magistrate Gerhard Strydom agreed with the state that having a family, dependants and a business does not amount to exceptional circumstances. Moreover, he said, the accused failed to convince the court that there were substantial and compelling circumstances to be released on bail, therefore, bail was denied. The matter has been remanded to September 5, for further investigation," Mahanjana said.
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