Jones brothers get 111 years

BROTHERS Ian and Chris Jones received prison terms of 61 and 50 years respectively yesterday for the armed robbery, kidnapping and murder that they committed in Windhoek in early 2002.The robbing and murder of businessman Gero Schaum on February 14 2002 were brutal, cold-blooded and senseless acts, Judge Sylvester Mainga commented when he sentenced the two brothers in the High Court in Windhoek.

The two brothers, who appeared to be in low spirits, stared at the floor of the dock where they sat for most of the sentencing. Apart from dejection, they showed little other sign of emotion.Not only were the brothers not satisfied with breaking into and entering Schaum’s house in Van Coller Street in Klein Windhoek, but they went on to kidnap Schaum by bundling him into the boot of his own vehicle, the Judge recounted.Thereafter, they lost their senses and murdered Schaum, a 59-year-old man who had been surprised and rendered helpless in his own home and who, according to the evidence before the court, did not offer any resistance, the Judge added.Judge Mainga drew on the wisdom of the 17-century English philosopher John Locke to remind the Joneses of the dirty deed that they had done.As if the duo had “abandoned the image of a person as defined by John Locke, ‘a thinking intelligent being that has reason and reflection’, they went further (and) senselessly and cowardly murdered Mr Schaum with one of the weapons stolen from his house, whereafter they covered the body with branches, in a place where the body was unlikely ever to be found”, the Judge stated.”Mr Schaum suffered a cruel death in that he was not killed immediately, but (the brothers) drove with him in the boot of his vehicle in two different directions before they ended up in Brakwater,” he also recounted.”One can only imagine that he was engulfed with great fear.When he was shot and killed, his body was covered with branches as if he was an animal.”Judge Mainga was neither impressed nor convinced by the expressions of remorse that the brothers conveyed to the court through their defence lawyers, Jorge Neves and Lucius Murorua, on Friday.Neither Ian Jones (27) nor Chris Jones (29) showed any remorse, he said.”The message of ‘sorry’ conveyed to this court is not genuine and sincere,” he remarked.If not minimal, then the prospects that the Joneses – who both have a record of previous criminal convictions – would reform and rehabilitate were poor, the Judge said.They “should be incapacitated for a long time”, in his opinion according to the role that each played in their crimes, with Ian Jones having had a leading role, he said.It had been Ian Jones who first became familiar with Schaum’s house when a girlfriend of his was asked to look after the house during a weekend that Schaum and his family travelled to Cape Town, the Judge noted.It had also been Ian Jones who held up Schaum at gunpoint after Schaum had returned home on the evening of the crimes, who found Schaum’s safe keys, who opened the safe, who removed money – now accepted to have been N$880 000 – from the safe, who drove the vehicle in which Schaum was kidnapped, who pulled the trigger of the gun with which Schaum was killed when he was shot in his head, and who took the bulk of the loot that was robbed from Schaum, the Judge said.He sentenced Ian Jones to 40 years’ imprisonment for the murder, 15 years’ imprisonment on a charge of housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery with aggravating circumstances, a five-year term for kidnapping, and one year in jail for having left Namibia without a passport when he fled to South Africa after the crimes.Chris Jones received a 35-year prison term for murder, a 12-year term for the housebreaking and armed robbery, and a further three-year term for the kidnapping.Each of the Joneses’ two co-accused – a cousin of theirs, Magnum Smith (24), and Johannes Pelser (40) – was sentenced to a fine of N$3 000 or one year in jail.Smith and Pelser were found guilty of obstructing the course of justice for assisting Ian Jones in getting rid of a pistol, gun holster and suitcase suspected to have been stolen from Schaum.In addition to that, they were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, which was suspended for five years on condition that Pelser pay N$3 500 – the value of the Walther pistol that he threw into the Orange River – into the estate of the late Schaum, while Smith has to pay N$10 000 – an amount that he received from Ian Jones and which is accepted to have come from the money stolen from Schaum – into the estate.Pelser and Smith were also ordered to pay a further N$10 000 each, which they also received from Ian Jones, to Schaum’s estate.Sarel Maritz represented Smith and Pelser during the trial.State advocate Leonie Dunn led the prosecution.Apart from dejection, they showed little other sign of emotion.Not only were the brothers not satisfied with breaking into and entering Schaum’s house in Van Coller Street in Klein Windhoek, but they went on to kidnap Schaum by bundling him into the boot of his own vehicle, the Judge recounted.Thereafter, they lost their senses and murdered Schaum, a 59-year-old man who had been surprised and rendered helpless in his own home and who, according to the evidence before the court, did not offer any resistance, the Judge added.Judge Mainga drew on the wisdom of the 17-century English philosopher John Locke to remind the Joneses of the dirty deed that they had done. As if the duo had “abandoned the image of a person as defined by John Locke, ‘a thinking intelligent being that has reason and reflection’, they went further (and) senselessly and cowardly murdered Mr Schaum with one of the weapons stolen from his house, whereafter they covered the body with branches, in a place where the body was unlikely ever to be found”, the Judge stated.”Mr Schaum suffered a cruel death in that he was not killed immediately, but (the brothers) drove with him in the boot of his vehicle in two different directions before they ended up in Brakwater,” he also recounted.”One can only imagine that he was engulfed with great fear.When he was shot and killed, his body was covered with branches as if he was an animal.”Judge Mainga was neither impressed nor convinced by the expressions of remorse that the brothers conveyed to the court through their defence lawyers, Jorge Neves and Lucius Murorua, on Friday.Neither Ian Jones (27) nor Chris Jones (29) showed any remorse, he said.”The message of ‘sorry’ conveyed to this court is not genuine and sincere,” he remarked.If not minimal, then the prospects that the Joneses – who both have a record of previous criminal convictions – would reform and rehabilitate were poor, the Judge said.They “should be incapacitated for a long time”, in his opinion according to the role that each played in their crimes, with Ian Jones having had a leading role, he said.It had been Ian Jones who first became familiar with Schaum’s house when a girlfriend of his was asked to look after the house during a weekend that Schaum and his family travelled to Cape Town, the Judge noted.It had also been Ian Jones who held up Schaum at gunpoint after Schaum had returned home on the evening of the crimes, who found Schaum’s safe keys, who opened the safe, who removed money – now accepted to have been N$880 000 – from the safe, who drove the vehicle in which Schaum was kidnapped, who pulled the trigger of the gun with which Schaum was killed when he was shot in his head, and who took the bulk of the loot that was robbed from Schaum, the Judge said.He sentenced Ian Jones to 40 years’ imprisonment for the murder, 15 years’ imprisonment on a charge of housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery with aggravating circumstances, a five-year term for kidnapping, and one year in jail for having left Namibia without a passport when he fled to South Africa after the crimes.Chris Jones received a 35-year prison term for murder, a 12-year term for the housebreaking and armed robbery, and a further three-year term for the kidnapping.Each of the Joneses’ two co-accused – a cousin of theirs, Magnum Smith (24), and Johannes Pelser (40) – was sentenced to a fine of N$3 000 or one year in jail.Smith and Pelser were found guilty of obstructing the course of justice for assisting Ian Jones in getting rid of a pistol, gun holster and suitcase suspected to have been stolen from Schaum.In addition to that, they were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, which was suspended for five years on condition that Pelser pay N$3 500 – the value of the Walther pistol that he threw into the Orange River – into the estate of the late Schaum, while Smith has to pay N$10 000 – an amount that he received from Ian Jones and which is accepted to have come from the money stolen from Schaum – into the estate.Pelser and Smith were also ordered to pay a further N$10 000 each, which they also received from Ian Jones, to Schaum’s estate.Sarel Maritz represented Smith and Pelser during the trial.State advocate Leonie Dunn led the prosecution.