A gangster hitman from Cape Town accepted a plea deal that involved detailing the elaborate plot which resulted in the assassination of a rival gang leader.

Francisco Peter Muller wanted to avoid a lengthy criminal trial, choosing instead to accept 40 years behind bars. His accomplices, dubbed Mad Max and Juju, are still at large.

According to that plea deal, the battle between the ’28s’ gang and the ‘Fast Guns’ gang continues to rage.

Muller, Mad Max and Juju murdered Bosmont resident Cheslin Witbooi, alleged to be a leader of the Fast Guns, a gang that has reportedly been involved in drug trafficking in Gauteng for years, reports TimesLIVE.

On April 10 2017, Muller’s associate Elroy Hein was contacted by a man known only as Pitso, who proposed a deal “that members of the 28s gang would come to Johannesburg and kill members of the Fast Guns for a reward of R50,000”.

Hein assembled his group of hitmen: himself, Muller and two others, known only as Mad Max and Juju.

Having accepted the contract, they obtained bus tickets from Cape Town to Johannesburg, arriving on April 12 to meet up with Pitso. The group was provided with firearms and ammunition, including four semi-automatic handguns and a rifle, as well as two photographs, one of which was of Witbooi.

That evening, the hit crew arrived at Witbooi’s flat in Bosmont, knocking on the door before opening fire. Witbooi was hit and died almost instantly.

“The cause of his death was a penetrating gunshot wound to the neck,” the plea agreement reads.

A woman, also inside the flat, was hit. Bullets struck her arm and buttocks. Somehow, she survived.

Witbooi and the woman weren’t the only victims.

During the shootout, Hein was also wounded by a bullet in the head. He died as the men made their getaway.

During their escape, the remaining hitmen met Faeez Bechor, a nearby resident who had heard the shots. They opened fire on him as well. When he fell, they robbed him of his cellphone and left him for dead. He died on route to the hospital.

Muller has refused to sell his fellow hitmen out and has been charged alone.

While he may be off the streets for a while, gang violence rages on.

While Susan Stewart, councillor for the Joburg suburbs of Bosmont, Newclare and surrounds, said she was glad to hear of the conviction, and added the turf wars and gang violence continued to disturb her and her community.

The ward 82 councillor said she was aware of at least 100 gang-related deaths since she began her tenure eight years ago, with the majority linked to drug turf wars and gang rivalries.

“There is so much drug activity, money is going into certain pockets, so I think they are trying to eliminate their competition,” she said.

Fighting gang violence in the area has proved difficult, with police failing to assist on a permanent basis. Every few years they bring in a tactical response team, but the effects of this don’t last long.

It’s the community that suffers.

[source:timeslive]