Cape Town - A thief who left his beanie behind at a murder scene in Manenberg has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment by the Wynberg Regional Court.
Just 10 months after determined detectives nabbed Lorenzo Daniels, 32, who was behind a spate of gang-related shootings last year, he confessed to his crimes and entered into a plea deal.
At the time, former station commander Brigadier Sanele Zama explained the gunman from the Americans gang was busted just a day after gunning down a rival gang member in the street in October, 2023.
The shooting in the early hours in Irvine Street resulted in the death of a member of the B2K gang, which is a breakaway gang of the Americans and at the time the two groupings were embroiled in bitter gun battles.
The case was assigned to Sergeant Daryl van Noie who arrived to find the victim lying face down in the road after he had been shot multiple times.
On the scene they also found a blue woollen beanie.
Zama said the team immediately started following up information. They were told the name of the suspect, and it was claimed that the gunman was seen wearing the exact same beanie moments before the shooting.
The next morning as he slept in his bed, detectives pounced on him and took him into custody.
During the interrogation, he cracked and confessed to the shooting.
Daniels claimed that he first spoke to the victim who had no idea that he had planned to shoot him in retaliation for shootings allegedly carried out by the B2Ks.
It is alleged that the beanie found at the scene fell off his head during the shooting. Daniels was remanded in custody after his appearance in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court.
The matter was subsequently moved to the Wynberg Regional Court where Daniels recanted his confession but after being confronted with CCTV footage showing him wearing the beanie, he pleaded guilty to charges of murder and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
He was subsequently sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Cape Argus