Arrest warrant for former cop is stayed for a month

A WARRANT of arrest has been issued against a former police captain who failed to appear in court on charges of fraud, perjury and violations of the Electronic Communications Act, but it was stayed for a month to allow him time to recover from depression.

Paul Scheepers, 44, was scheduled to make his second appearance in the Bellville District Court, but did not arrive. He was arrested on May 8.

Defence attorney Sageer Pansari told the court that Scheepers was suffering from serious depression, and that a medical practitioner had booked him off for a month. The magistrate ordered that the warrant be stayed until Scheepers’s next appearance, on August 18, and only be executed if he again failed to appear in court.

Prosecutor Thersia du Toit-Smit told the court that the investigation was still in its early stages, and would take time to be completed. The probe included the analysis of confiscated computers found in Scheepers’s possession, she told the court.

The defence said Scheepers needed information on the computers for private study. However, to obtain the information, the defence would have to approach the State in a formal manner, the prosecutor said.

Du Toit-Smit said further charges could be added to the charge sheet because the investigation is still under way.

Scheepers, who is out on R20 000 bail, was attached to the Crime Intelligence Unit, but ran his own private detective agency, Eagle Eye Solutions Technology.

Cellphone service providers may not provide the police with the records of calls made and received, for criminal investigations, without a subpoena compelling them to do so. It is alleged that Scheepers fraudulently included the numbers of cellphones under private investigation by his agency.

He is due to appear in court again on August 18. – ANA