Man shot in another East Rand drive-by

2012-03-12 22:43

Johannesburg - A man was shot dead in Reiger Park, Boksburg, on Sunday night, bringing to three the number of men fatally wounded in drive-by-shootings on the East Rand in the past week, police said.

Anton Williams was in his car when the occupants of a silver BMW following him opened fire on him, hitting him several times and killing him, around 23:00 on the Elsburg road to Germiston, said Lieutenant Colonel Katleho Mogale.

His car veered off the road.

"When paramedics arrived at the scene they certified him dead," said Mogale. "The investigation into the murder is continuing," he said.

Williams, 32, was last seen alive visiting the home of Gavin Adams, a prominent member of the Dogan gang who was killed in Edenvale on Wednesday.

Three balaclava-clad men in a silver Renault with tinted windows shot Adams, 39, and his wife Leila, who was hospitalised in a serious condition.

The next day, Johnny Jacobs, 47, and his girlfriend were sitting in a car in Popcorn Valley, Reiger Park, at 17:00 when they were approached by four people in a white BMW.

A man in the car got out and fired several shots, killing Jacobs and wounding his girlfriend. Two men, aged 51 and 27, were arrested last week for Jacobs's murder. They appeared in the Boksburg Magistrate's Court on Monday.

The younger man Xavier Malgas was found with the car used in the shooting, but prosecutors could not link him to the crime and he was freed, the SABC reported.

"I can only say that police acted under severe pressure to execute these arrests, because the court didn't find any evidence and it's so strange to me," his defence lawyer Manny Marx reportedly said.

Malgas's co-accused William Orr also denied any involvement. He would appear in court again on Tuesday.

- SAPA