While many people dread Friday the 13th, for father and son Norman and Patrick Pieterse it may just be their lucky day.
On July 13, Cape Town Regional Court magistrate Johnny Vermeulen is to pronounce them guilty — or not -‒ of aggravated armed robbery.
If found not guilty, the judgement will end a marathon criminal trial that started in August 2003, and has lasted one month short of four years.
The case has seen several prosecutors and defence attorneys, all of whom needed months to obtain and study the record.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Nation Loliwe came on record for the first time, to present a closing argument.
Equally all at sea was new defence counsel George Catsicadellis.
When they had completed their arguments, Vermeulen said it would be unfair to the accused to rush into judgement, and said he was going to give the case his careful consideration.
But the soonest date on which he was free to do so was July 13.
He told Catsicadellis: ”I hope your clients are not superstitious — if they are, it may be a bad day for them.”
Catsicadellis replied: ”Myself, I am not, because all my faith is in you.”
It is alleged that Norman Pieterse (50) responded to an advertisement for the sale of a silver VW Golf at Auto Traders in Woodstock.
It is alleged he went to the premises with his son, Patrick, no age given, in July 1998, and informed salesperson Paul van der Riet that he wished to buy the car as a gift for his son.
Loliwe said Van der Riet accompanied the Pieterses for a test drive, during which they drove all over the Peninsula. Eventually, when the son was driving at high speed on the four-lane N1 highway, the father allegedly drew a firearm on Van der Riet. They stopped, and Van der Riet was forced out of the car.
The defence’s case is based on the fact that Van der Riet was unable to identify the son at an ID parade,
Catsicadellis contends there were also discrepancies with the identification of the father. – Sapa