Cape Town - The most wanted gangster on the Cape Flats was slapped with more than 100 years imprisonment by the Western Cape High Court on Friday for embarking on a murderous crime spree to avenge his gang boss.
Several years after his dramatic arrest in Paarl, Jamiel “Charra” Jacobs was found guilty of an array of charges linked to the formation of the Flakkas gang in Hillview and surrounding areas in 2018.
At the time, a source said Jacobs was a member of the Junky Funky Kids gang, and after the death of the Funky’s boss, John Adams, in November 2017, he started a splinter gang known as the Flakka Boys.
It was believed Adams was assassinated by his own gang and Jacobs formed the new gang, who carried out revenge attacks on the Funkys across Steenberg and Lavender Hill.
According to the indictment, after forming the new gang, Jacobs embarked on their first revenge attack and opened fire on a group of gangsters in Choir Street in Steenberg.
Later that month, Jacobs allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend Tyline Cunningham on December 30, 2017, after she asked him for money for nappies.
He allegedly told her he didn’t have money and when she said she would make a plan on her own, he fetched a gun from the kitchen and shot her in the head. She was rushed to Retreat Day Hospital where she was declared dead while the gang cleaned the crime scene. Between May and October 2018, the gang allegedly killed eight peopleand attempted to kill six more.
Jacobs was subsequently found guilty of two murders and six attempted murders and sentenced to a total of 121 years.
Police commissioner Thembisile Patekile praised the diligence and commitment of the investigating officer and those who had assisted him.
He expressed the hope that the lengthy sentence meted against Jacobs would act as a deterrent to those involved in gang activities in the province.