New Kids gang member Claudio Calvert has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Cameron Daniels.
The 22-year-old was also sentenced to ten years respectively, for the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Calvert shot and killed Daniels in cold blood in Helenvale on 15 July 2022 while Daniels was walking from Leith Street in Baatjies Street, close to the Helenvale Resource Centre.
He was 19 years old at the time of the commission of the offence.
During his testimony, he denied killing Daniels and told the court that he considered the deceased a friend.
Acting Judge Hannelie Bakker said the inquiry into what would be an appropriate sentence a court has to impose on an offender is a huge responsibility that rests on the shoulders of presiding officers.
"The accused has been convicted of two very serious offences.
"Despite certain limited successes, there has been no real let-up in the crime pandemic that engulfs our country and especially Helenvale, the area in which the accused and deceased resided.
"The situation continues to be alarming," said Bakker.
According to Bakker the court concluded that the murder was premeditated, stating that Calvert had approached the deceased from behind and was armed with a semi-automatic firearm.
Two shots were fired into the deceased's head and another struck him on his chest.
Bakker quoted a judge in a different matter who described the murder as "breathtakingly brazen and executed with a callous brutality."
Bakker said the court was not satisfied that substantial and compelling circumstances exist that justify the imposition of a lesser sentence than the sentenced prescribed in the Act.
In terms of Section 103(1)(h) of the Firearms Control Act, 60 of 2000, Calvert was declared unfit to possess a firearm as a result of his convictions.
Also read: Triple murder rocks Gqeberha family
During the trial, three people including a toddler were killed in a bloody triple murder in gang-ridden Helenvale.
The murders were seemingly linked to Calvert's murder trial.
The deceased were all family members of a woman who eventually testified against Calvert.
Her mother, Ellen Hutchinson, 50, her three-year-old nephew Emilio Hutchinson, and a family friend, Claudeo Thomas, 44, were gunned down and died at the scene.
Ellen's 13-year-old daughter and her 19-year-old son were wounded in the foot and shoulder and admitted to a hospital.
