Police are confident the man they have arrested in connection with the murders of two Gauteng Anti-Gang Unit officers and two women in Reiger Park, Ekurhuleni is the man who pulled the trigger.
However, a source with knowledge of the incident and who has seen related video footage, says that Reagan Cheslin Collis, who is accused of the killings, may not be the shooter. The source disputes the case against the 23-year-old, claiming that the wrong man was arrested.
The shooting is alleged to be linked to a longstanding gang rivalry, with Collis and his friends on one side of the dispute.
Collis appeared in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
He faces four counts of murder, one of attempted murder, two of robbery with aggravating circumstances, and charges of possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
His case was postponed to August 25 for a formal bail application.
Collis was arrested following a multidisciplinary tracing operation that led to the recovery of two R5 rifles at the KwaDukathole informal settlement in Germiston over the weekend.
It has also been alleged that he was tortured by police, an incident that was allegedly witnessed by a family member.
His arrest followed the fatal shooting of Anti-Gang Unit officers Constable Thapelo Tlomatsana, 29, and Constable Sphiwe Sibeko, 28, as well as two civilian women in Reiger Park.
The two women were identified as Roleen Lessing and and Jaydin Margerman.
The four were shot at about 7.30pm on Friday, August 7.
Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said preliminary reports indicated that the officers were part of a crime-prevention team conducting patrols in the area.
“After hearing gunshots, they drove towards the source of the shots, where they were allegedly ambushed,” she said.
The incident is said to have occurred in front of Collis’ grandmother’s house in the area.
The two women were identified as Roleen Lessing and and Jaydin Margerman.
The four were shot at about 7.30pm on Friday, August 7.
Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said preliminary reports indicated that the officers were part of a crime-prevention team conducting patrols in the area.
“After hearing gunshots, they drove towards the source of the shots, where they were allegedly ambushed,” she said.
The incident is said to have occurred in front of Collis’ grandmother’s house in the area.
However, according to the source, a community patroller saw the shooter but was not able to see his face clearly.
The shooter, believed to be a man, was reportedly wearing a blue or black hoodie and red tracksuit pants.
He was allegedly seen putting his hands into the vehicle before shooting at the two women.
The source said he subsequently received CCTV footage from members of the family, which IOL has also seen.
The footage shows a red Volkswagen Polo stopping outside the grandmother’s house.
A woman is seen getting off the vehicle and walking towards a shop, while the woman driver remains inside.
A silver-grey Polo hatchback is then seen passing the women’s red Polo and dropping off a man at a corner near where the shooting occurred.
When the woman returns to the red Polo, the shooter approaches the vehicle and begins shooting, first at the driver’s side and then at the passenger.
Both women were allegedly seated in the front of the vehicle.
After the shooting, a man said to be Collis is seen inside the yard outside of which the incident took place, and running towards a fence near the pillars.
It is believed that the shooter’s face covering slipped off.
According to the source, Collis then confronted the shooter, saying: “I saw you. I saw you.”
In the footage, the man said to be Collis is wearing a hoodie, believed to be maroon, blue jeans and white sneakers.
The man is seen attempting to leave the yard to see who had been shot.
He is allegedly then seen opening the driver’s door of the red Polo, pulling up the handbrake and stopping the music, before getting out of the vehicle, according to the source.
While he is near the red Polo, a police vehicle approaches and passes by, later colliding with a fence at Lakeside Primary School.
Collis is later allegedly seen walking outside his grandmother’s house with his head held up.
It is alleged that Collis was in the yard when the two police officers were shot two houses away from where the women had been shot.
The shooting was allegedly witnessed by community patrollers.
The footage, which was made available to police, shows the shooter running towards the getaway vehicle, believed to be the silver-grey Polo hatchback.
It is said the shooting was connected to a dispute between Collis and a gang known as the “Sour Boys.”
It is further alleged that Collis and his family received a message on Facebook about two hours before the incident from the Sour Boys, warning that they “were coming for him and his family”.
They allegedly arrived later and the shooting occurred.
It is alleged that the gunman was known to Collis, who reportedly told police what had happened after the shooting.
Sibeko was laid to rest in Springs on Saturday, while Tlomatsana is set to be buried in Zebediela, Limpopo, on Sunday.
IOL sent questions to Gauteng police seeking comment on the matter. However, Muridili referred the questions to the Hawks.
Questions were then sent to Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale – her response is awaited.
Questions sent to the Hawks included:
-What evidence led investigators to identify and arrest Collis as the alleged shooter, and can police confirm whether CCTV footage was obtained and analysed as part of the investigation?
-Have investigators identified or investigated any other person as a possible shooter? If so, can police explain whether the alleged CCTV footage supports or contradicts the case against Collis?
-Are investigators pursuing a possible link between the shooting and an alleged longstanding rivalry involving Collis, his associates and the group reportedly known as the Sour Boys?
-Was there any information or threat received before the shooting indicating that Collis or his associates were being targeted?
*This story will be updated when the Hawks respond.
