It wasn’t me — gang murder accused
● Suspect says he was a hawker, not a gangster
A young suspect charged with the murder of a man believed to be linked to a rival gang has denied being a gangster, saying he worked as a fruit and vegetable hawker.
However, Walter Williams, 22, told the Port Elizabeth High Court yesterday that, after his arrest and incarceration at St Albans Correctional Facility, he had joined the notorious 26 gang for his own protection.
Williams, who faces one count of murder, three of attempted murder, two counts related to being involved in a gang and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial.
The state alleges that Williams was a member of the New Time Bozzas (NTB) gang.
It is alleged that on December 9 2018 he opened fire on a man who was walking along Anita Drive, Helenvale.
In the process, he allegedly shot two minors, aged 13 and 16 at the time — one in the stomach and the other in the hand.
They both recovered. The two boys were walking with their older cousin, who, along with Williams’s alleged target, walked away unscathed.
According to the indictment, Williams’s target in the shooting was a state witness in an unrelated matter.
The witness testified against Williams on behalf of the state. He is not being named because he is under witness protection.
The day after the shooting, Williams allegedly went to a house in Kobus Street, Helenvale, where a group of people had gathered and were playing cards.
According to a state witness, who is not being named because she is under witness protection, Williams joined the game.
After consuming a glass of cold drink, he stood up, allegedly pointed a firearm at Richard Marius Stuurman and shot him in the head before leaving the house.
Williams denied being involved in both shootings, and claimed that he had been selling fruit and vegetables at a robot in the Greenacres area.
Williams testified that though he knew of gangs operating in the Helenvale area, where he was living at the time, he was not involved with them.
Williams said he knew of Stuurman before the fatal shooting but did not know if he was a member of a gang.
Asked by his defence counsel, advocate Jodine Coertzen, if he knew why state witnesses would have identified him as the shooter in the two incidents, Williams said he did not know why they identified him.
The trial continues.