Robber nabbed in dramatic M13 shoot-out gets 56 years behind bars

DURBAN – THE surviving robber of a 2018 shoot-out between police and his gang of heavily armed men has been sentenced to 56 years’ imprisonment.

Sboniso Msomi, 33, was sentenced for burglary, robbery, murder and attempted murder. He was also sentenced for the murder of his co-accused.

“His sentence follows a series of cases that he had committed in the Kloof, Wyebank and Pinetown areas. Msomi and his co-accused were terrorising the home owners and robbing them of their belongings,” said KwaZulu-Natal SAPS spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele.

On February 19, 2018, the men went on a robbery spree in Pinetown where they robbed families of TVs, cash, jewellery, cellphones, laptops and other personal belongings.

Mbele said police were alerted and patrolling officers spotted their vehicle.

“Police officers from the K9 Unit tried to intercept the said vehicle but they were met by a hail of bullets. During the exchange of gunfire, five males were fatally wounded and one survived with injuries,” she said.

She said police found three illegal firearms with ammunition inside the gang’s vehicle.

All the property taken during the robbery was recovered and positively identified by the legal owners. The vehicle the robbers used was stolen during a house robbery in Wyebank.

“A watertight docket was presented at court by the investigating officer from eThekwini District Trio Task Team and it led to the successful prosecution of the surviving accused,” she said.