‘I was tortured into confessing to Reiger Park killings,’ one accused claims
The bail hearing of three men accused of the deadly Reiger Park mass shooting took a dramatic turn in the Boksburg magistrate’s court on Tuesday when one of them claimed police tortured him into confessing to the killings.
Regan Collis, 23, Jamal Meyer, 24, and Elvino Crafford, 27, face several charges including four counts of murder and attempted murder after the August 7 shooting that claimed the lives of two Gauteng anti-gang unit officers and two civilian women.
Reading Collis’s affidavit, lawyer Samkelo Kuzani told the court his client intended pleading not guilty and maintained he was not involved in the killings.
Collis claimed he was at home when the shooting happened and said video footage would prove his alibi.
“I have a defence of alibi and this makes the state case very weak against me. The state’s case is weak in that it is practically impossible for me to kill two well-trained police officers and two females.”
He said one video showed him wearing a white hat, maroon jersey and brown takkies, while another allegedly showed him leaving home to assist people inside a Polo Vivo after they had been shot.
“In all honesty, I had not shot them. In all honesty, if I had shot them, I would not see the need to help them.”
However, the most serious allegations were directed at police.
Collis claimed officers placed a plastic bag over his head and tortured him for more than three hours, forcing him to confess.
“I was severely tortured by the police officers. They put a plastic over my head and said I must confess to the crime.
“I was lying on my stomach, tightly handcuffed. During this moment, some police officers were taking videos of me and recording me. I was sure I was dying from this torture.”
He said he eventually confessed to killing the two police officers and two women, but insisted the confession was false.
“I told the police I killed the two police officers and two women. This is definitely not true.”
Collis also implicated Meyer during the alleged torture, but said he did so because he was being forced to confess.
Kuzani told the court that all three accused had alibis and asked for video footage to be played.
“All the accused present before this court, three applicants, all of them have an alibi.”
The state did not oppose the footage being brought before court, but prosecutor Matthews Rampyapedi questioned its value.
“It just reflects inside the yard at a specific time. It does not show what happened entirely on the street.”
Rampyapedi said the state was not disputing Crafford’s alleged alibi for August 7, but would outline the role he allegedly played the next day.
The investigating officer’s affidavit, meanwhile, alleged that CCTV footage placed accused numbers one and two at the crime scene. The state also said a pointing-out and alleged confession had led police to recover firearms taken from the slain officers.
The admissibility of that evidence will be determined during the trial.
The investigating officer also dismissed social media footage allegedly showing Collis at home.
“I want to state categorically that such video footage lacks authenticity and does not reflect what truly transpired at the scene.”
The state is opposing bail on public safety grounds and has raised the accused’s previous and pending criminal cases.
The three accused all said they could only afford R2,000 bail.
The bail application was postponed to September 8 for the video footage to be played and for judgment.