No bail for 'elderly' Go George shareholder accused of murder

Update

GEORGE NEWS - Velile James (64), the 'elderly' Go George shareholder accused of slaying Jan van der Ross (49) outside a tavern in Blanco last weekend, was denied bail in the George Magistrate's Court on Tuesday 22 April.

James was arrested near Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape on Sunday night, 13 April, just two hours after he allegedly gunned Van der Ross down outside Benton's Tavern in Crystal Avenue.

Charged with a Schedule 5 offence, the onus was on the accused, sporting a jacket with the words, 'Ward 21 Neighbourhood Watch', embroidered on the back, a neatly shaved head and glasses, to convince the court that granting him bail was in the interest of justice.

According to the State, the kill shot was fired at about 17:50 from within a minibus taxi parked outside Benton's Tavern, in the presence of two of James's friends. These two later identified him as the shooter.

Van der Ross, who, according to the State had been embroiled in an apparent love triangle with the shooter and another woman, had known the taxi driver and one of the other two passengers. According to the State, he had approached the taxi. An argument over the woman then broke out, upon which James allegedly shot Van der Ross when he walked away from the taxi.

The murder accused, Velile James, in a rare screenshot sourced on social media.

Making his getaway, James allegedly jumped out of the taxi and into a black Audi Q5 parked next to it, and raced off.

In his affidavit, James claimed he did not flee the scene, but was in a state of fear and confusion and needed to get away from George.

He claimed he was looking for a place of safety and was heading towards Middelburg. He further stated he had had no idea the victim he just shot had died, and that he was not supposed to have left George.

James added that while he was unemployed, he earned dividends as a Go George shareholder, from which he financially supported his 16-year-old child and his girlfriend's three minor children. He indicated he had been in a relationship with the woman for a year and separated from his wife for 18 months.

In weighing the balance of culpabilities, the court considered James's age, whether he would be a flight risk, tamper with evidence, intimidate witnesses, endanger the community and commit further offences while on bail. A petition signed by 578 community members advocating for bail to be denied was also included in the docket.

Jan van der Ross (49) was killed following an alleged love triangle.

While the accused had no previous convictions or pending cases against him, there were no affidavits in the docket from witnesses who feared intimidation or death and no evidence indicating the murder had been premeditated, what stood out like a sore thumb to the court was the fact that James had been arrested two hours after the shooting, a staggering 350km away in Graaff-Reinet.

"The accused may have been shocked, but he passed many police stations, fleeing the jurisdiction of this court and the province en route to Graaff-Reinet," the magistrate said.

To the court this indicated that James might evade trial if released on bail. The proposed R1 000 bail was thus denied, and James was sent back to prison.

The matter was postponed to 29 May for further investigation. Exhibits still outstanding included the post-mortem and ballistic reports, crime scene photos and three witness statements.

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