News24 | 'Serious allegations have to be investigated' - bail bid by Stanfields, co-accused postponed

Ralph Stanfield and his wife Nicole, at a previous court appearance.

• One more person was added to the case against Ralph Stanfield, his wife, Nicole, and two others.
• Their bail application was supposed to have been heard, but was postponed to Wednesday.
• They are accused of stealing a BMW 3 Series and threatening the owner.

The bail application of Ralph Stanfield, his wife, and three co-accused faced a setback on Monday in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court.

Stanfield and his wife, Nicole Johnson, appeared in court, along with Johannes Abrahams, Denver Booysen, and Hussein Brandt, following their arrest a week ago.

Brandt made his first appearance with the group on Monday.

They face charges of attempted murder and being in possession of an unlicenced firearm.

They are also accused of stealing a BMW 3 Series worth R326 202.82.

The identity of the owner of the vehicle was concealed for safety reasons.

Stanfield and Johnson face an additional count of fraud for allegedly pretending to a police officer that they were the lawful owners of the car.

According to a four-page charge sheet, Stanfield, Abrahams, and Booysen are further accused of allegedly assaulting the car owner and taking their cellphone, worth R1 225.

Cape Town crime lore has it that Stanfield is the boss of a criminal network of gangsters aligned with the 28s prison gang. But he has no previous convictions, particularly no conviction under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, to be able to legally use the epithet of "gang boss" when describing him.

READ | Alleged Cape Town 28s gang boss and wife face a raft of charges related to construction contracts

During the bail application, Stanfield and his co-accused appeared to be guarded by heavily armed Anti-Gang Unit members.

Stanfield and his wife appeared wearing masks.

In Stanfield's affidavit, he submitted that he had business interests in construction and ran a feeding scheme in the Mitchells Plain area.

He also said he needed a special machine to help him sleep, which he was denied when taken into custody.

In Johnson's affidavit submitted to the court, she said she was currently studying through Unisa and was preparing for examinations. 

She also owns two beauty spas and has a health condition.

ALSO READ | Stanfields face extortion, intimidation arrests too, State says

Johnson was remanded last week to the hospital section of Pollsmoor Prison because she was currently recovering from an operation.

The couple stressed that they were concerned about the well-being of their children.

The matter was postponed to 14:00 for further deliberations.

Once court resumed, the prosecutor, Frank van Heerden, requested the bail matter be postponed for investigation.

"These are serious allegations that have to be investigated. The State only received a copy of these affidavits today," he told the court.

The matter was postponed to Wednesday, and the accused will remain in custody.