Cape Town - Alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield has been granted R250 000 bail by the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court as he was deemed not to be a flight risk.
However, he will remain behind bars as the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court has denied his bail application.
Stanfield returned to the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court yesterday as he was handed the bail judgment amid firearm charges relating to a raid at his Constantia home last year.
He was arrested alongside his wife, Nicole Johnson, Johannes “Bal” Abrahams, Denver Booysen and Jose Brandt in September on various charges allegedly linked to a manhunt and the attempted murder of a former employee after he allegedly stole more than R1 million from the couple.
It is understood that on the day police descended on his home they found him in possession of a key to a safe. When the safe was opened, they found a shotgun and ammunition for which he did not have a licence.
While his wife and co-accused appeared alongside him in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court for the charges related to the manhunt, Stanfield was also taken to Wynberg to appear on charges related to the firearm.
He brought bail applications at each court, but his first was turned down in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court.
During proceedings in Wynberg on Thursday, the magistrate ruled that Stanfield was not a flight risk as he always appeared in the Cape Town Regional Court, where he is currently on trial for the firearm-related charge, while granted bail.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said that he was granted R250 000 bail with house arrest.
It is understood that his legal team will now appeal the decision made by the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, following the decision by the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court.
Meanwhile, his wife is set to appear in the Western Cape High Court next week as she appealed her bail applications.
Despite two failed attempts at freedom, Johnson claimed that Magistrate Atta Theart erred in her judgments.
Johnson’s legal team argued the magistrate failed to assess that Johnson was never accused of a violent crime.
They highlight that while out on bail on a separate matter, Johnson travelled abroad and returned for her appearances.
“The magistrate erred in mentioning but not having sufficient regard to the fact that the appellant had previously been released on bail and subsequent thereto on warning and had always appeared in court when required to do so.
“In having inadequate regard to the fact that the appellant is not a flight risk as is borne out by the prosecutor not having disputed that they have as well as their familial, financial and emotional ties to the jurisdiction of this honourable court,’’ the application reads.
The appeal will be heard on April 25.