Cape Town - The trial of four alleged members of the 28s gang accused of robbing missing German tourist Nick Frischke has been put on hold due to an “ethical conflict”.
This was revealed in the Wynberg Regional Court on Tuesday where Ishaam Fischer, Melvin Geunantin, Vanroy Petersen and Carlo Geunantin were expected to plead on charges linked to the missing 22-year-old.
Frischke vanished without a trace while hiking on the Hangberg trail between Hout Bay and Sandy Bay on February 15 last year while visiting Cape Town.
While Frischke has never been found, the State has slapped the group with various charges, including robbery, house break-in, firearmand ammunition-related charges and charges under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
According to the indictment, the group are members of the 28s gang who committed a spate of robberies.
On the day Frischke was robbed, the gang also pounced on another victim in Hout Bay and allegedly stole an iPhone 13 Pro Max, Huawei P40, black LV handbag, R11 267 in cash and other items.
Later in the day, the group allegedly robbed Frischke of a Redmi Note 8 Pro cellphone and his backpack containing other valuables.
Court documents show that the next day Carlo and Fischer allegedly broke into the home of a 79-year-old grandfather and stole a flatscreen TV.
Shockingly, the documents also reveal that Carlo faces two more charges, which include the robbery of three security guards, where he allegedly stole handcuffs, cellphones a bicycle and even a radio.
Carlo is also accused of breaking into the Hout Bay market and allegedly stealing X boxes, TV screens, computer monitors, grinders, saws and other items.
During the court proceedings, defence attorney Kyle Petersen withdrew from the case, citing “ethical conflict” as the reason.
A new defence lawyer was present and told the magistrate he had received financial instructions but needed time to prepare for the trial. The case was postponed to Thursday, when the group was expected to plead.
Earlier this month a group of concerned residents revealed to the Weekend Argus that they had rallied together to assist a specialised police team that has been working to solve the case.
One of the concerned residents, who cannot be identified for safety reasons as they are working closely with the police’s specialised personnel, said they had been requested to release the following statement about the case after vital and covert information was received:
“We, a group of concerned citizens, are assisting where we can and providing all information to very specialised SAPS personnel. The SAPS specialised personnel are taking everything into consideration regarding international German tourist Nick Frischke.”
Cape Argus