POLICE are on the hunt for a former cop who wasn’t prepared to attend court for his sentencing this week, following his conviction on various counts of illegally possessing firearms and ammunition.
Daniel Reynecke, 64, instead, sent an SMS to his attorney Thobile Sigcau, on Tuesday, saying that he had “attempted suicide…”
Reynecke, a policeman with 40 years of service to his name, held the rank of warrant officer when he resigned as a member of the Directorate of Priority Crime investigation (Hawks) unit’s Durban branch in 2018.
He was convicted in June and his sentencing hearing began as planned on August 25. After proceedings on the day, the matter was adjourned by Magistrate Anand Maharaj to Monday (August 29), for Sigcau to respond to some of the submissions made by the State via its witness, Colonel Herbert Heap.
The State was led by Advocates Annelize Harrison and Yoliswa Nyakata.
When Reynecke’s matter was called on Monday, Sigcau informed the court about an SMS he received from his client at 4am, on the same morning.
“I want to apologise to the court for not attending…”, the message read.
Sigcau said he sent various messages and made numerous calls thereafter but received no further responses from Reynecke.
The attorney also told the court that the accused’s son, who was present, informed him that when he went to his father’s home in Amanzimtoti, he was not there, but found a set of car keys, wallet, ID and a copy of Reynecke’s will on a table.
Magistrate Maharaj issued a warrant for Reynecke’s arrest and adjourned the matter to the next day.
But Reynecke was still not in attendance and Sigcau told the court about Reynecke’s second SMS, which spoke of his supposed suicide attempt.
Maharaj said: “If and when he is found, he must be kept in custody until the matter returns to court.”
During his trial, it emerged that Reynecke was in possession of numerous police exhibits, which were meant to be kept at the SAPS’ storage facilities, but were found in his office safe and home.
A few firearms had their serial numbers scratched off.
Reynecke was known to be an expert marksman and faced 13 charges, including theft of firearms and unlawful possession of firearms. He pleaded not guilty to all but was convicted on eight counts.
Reynecke’s improper handling of police exhibits only surfaced when a bag of firearms and explosives were found near a river at the Amanzimtoti Golf Course in 2014.
Some of the exhibits in the bag were tied to criminal investigations from the 1990s and police records showed that two of the guns in the bag were previously taken by Reynecke from the Saps’ storage facilities but not returned.
Further investigations revealed that Reynecke had 39 firearms stored in his office safe, including two unlicensed guns, and more police exhibits at his home.
He was formally charged in 2018 and Colonel Heap, from the Hawks’ Pretoria branch, led the investigation after the bag was found in Amanzimtoti.
Heap conducted an audit of SAPS 13 records at 71 police stations with which Reynecke had associations.
On August 25, the court received the pre-sentencing report drafted by a probation officer.
The report included a character assessment of Reynecke and suggested he be subjected to correctional supervision rather than direct imprisonment.
Sigcau said he was satisfied with the report and he acknowledged that Reynecke’s offences were serious, asking that the court deviate from the prescribed sentence and use its discretion and consider his personal circumstances.
“I appeal to the court to have mercy and give him another chance at life,” said Sigcau.
Harrison said: “ We don’t agree with the content of the report and we will lead evidence to show why.”
She called Heap back on the witness stand.
Heap gave details about the findings he made regarding Reynecke’s various indiscretions as a policeman, which included his previous convictions, and disregarding standing orders on signatures that commissioned and non-commissioned officers were expected to uphold.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE