Robber caught in viral Bluff robbery sentenced
A man convicted of robbing a woman outside a mall on the Bluff has been slapped with an eight-year prison sentence.
Video footage of the crime went viral on social media in September.
It showed Sicelo Mpanza and his accomplice snatching the woman's handbag and necklace at the boom gate exit.
The pair fled the scene, but it didn't end there.
Driver Sandy Ward chased after them and ran over Mpanza outside a petrol station.
READ: ‘Boom! And I hit him’: Durban woman recounts robbery ordeal
Prosecutors say Mpanza pleaded guilty to robbery with aggravating circumstances in a Durban court.
The 28-year-old's accomplice fled the scene in a getaway vehicle.
NPA spokesperson for KZN, Natasha Kara, says the sentence was lower than the minimum of 15 years of imprisonment.
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"In sentencing Mpanza to eight years of direct imprisonment, the court deviated from the minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment, citing Mpanza’s age and the fact that he pleaded guilty as substantial and compelling reasons for the deviation. In addition to the sentence, Mpanza was deemed unfit to possess a firearm.
"The NPA hopes that sentences of this nature will have the necessary deterrent effect on like-minded individuals."
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