A serial robber has been sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Oudtshoorn Regional Court in the Western Cape.
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Brendon Prinsloo, a resident of Bridgton, was found guilty of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, seven counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, and housebreaking with intent to steal and theft.
According to Eric Ntabazalila, the provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Prinsloo’s crime spree started on 12cAugust 2017.
‘He brutally attacked his girlfriend, Lu-Anne Pote, after she informed him that she would visit her friend. He became jealous, and angry, and hit her with a stone on the head, with a wood saw on the back, kicked, and slapped her.
‘He also hit her with a hockey stick which fractured her left arm as she attempted to cover her head. After she fell, he picked up a big stone and was about to throw it on her head when her mother intervened,’ Ntabazalila said.
State Prosecutor Hyron Goulding presented 15 witnesses to testify against Prinsloo.
On 3 March 2019, along Kameel Road in Bridgton, Prinsloo threatened Relton Stuurman (22) with a panga, robbing him of his cell phone and identity document under the guise of offering assistance when his vehicle broke down.
25 August 2019, saw Prinsloo and an accomplice rob and stab 50-year-old Stuart Harcombe on Dassie Road, snatching his cell phone valued at R500.
22 September 2019, Andre Dido (34) encountered Prinsloo and his associate on his way home after escorting his girlfriend. They relieved him of R4 000, a sweater, and a hat, threatening him with a stabbing.
On 4 October 2019, Shaun Ayford (35) fell victim to Prinsloo’s brutality, being strangled and pepper sprayed before being robbed of R50 and a music box.
7 November 2019, saw Prinsloo targeting a spaza shop owner in the same street, brandishing a knife and making off with R5 600.
Prinsloo had previously been employed at the Ethiopian national’s spaza shop.
The court also heard of an incident on 22 April 2020, where Prinsloo threatened a 36-year-old spaza owner with a knife, looting R4 500 and five crates of bread valued at R800.
On 26 April 2020, Prinsloo and five cohorts threatened 25-year-old Dillon Blignaut with a knife, robbing him of a bicycle worth R4 000 and a cell phone valued at R1 700 as he was en route to fetch his mother’s medication.
Further testimony revealed that Prinsloo broke into the home of a 23-year-old woman on 28 September 2019, prompting her to awaken as he snatched her cell phone from under her pillow.
Following his crime spree, Prinsloo went into hiding but was apprehended on 9 August 2020.
Prinsloo received a three-year sentence for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, an 18-year term for seven counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, and another three years for housebreaking with intent to steal and theft. The court ordered these sentences to run concurrently and deemed him unfit to possess a firearm.
Prior to this sentencing, Prinsloo had been handed an eight-year sentence on 14 November 2022, for an unrelated charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
In response to the sentence, Ntabazalila stated, ‘The NPA welcomes the sentence and hopes the residents of Bridgton and greater Oudtshoorn will breathe a sigh of relief, as authorities do their best to arrest the spate of violent crimes in their communities.’
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