‘Butchery three won’t run’

Butchery robbery accused Cino Shearer and his co-accused, Warren Isaacs and Shirley Gunuza, were “not runners”, despite a growing number of charges against them, according to their attorney, Neil Ristow.

Shearer, a publicist and public benefactor, and his co-accused face a charge of planning to rob a local butchery they believed had R70m inside, though Hawks investigators say this amount was inflated.

The three are charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted robbery with aggravating circumstances.

It was Shearer’s turn to respond to the Hawks on Wednesday.

Ristow put it to bail magistrate Joel Cesar that despite previous cases against his clients, they would not evade trial should they be granted bail.

Shearer has a case pending in Johannesburg. A charge of murder against Gunuza and other charges against Isaacs were withdrawn in the past.

The state has opposed bail saying all three had previous cases against them. “He [Cino] was implicated in this case while already out on bail.”

Cesar postponed the case to Friday.