The second man arrested in connection with the Reiger Park killings has told the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court that he was allegedly assaulted by police and was suffering from severe chest pain following his arrest.
Jamal Meyer appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday, a day after his arrest in the Ekurhuleni area. His arrest followed an intensive tracing operation by a multidisciplinary police team investigating the shooting that claimed the lives of two Anti-Gang Unit officers and two women.
Meyer remains in custody and is expected to return to court on August 25, when he is due to appear alongside co-accused Reagan Cheslin Collis for a formal bail application.
Meyer’s allegations of police brutality were made through his lawyer, attorney Samkele Kuzani, who asked the court to ensure that his client received medical attention.
Meyer alleges brutal assault
Kuzani told the court that Meyer claimed he had been “brutally assaulted” by police during his arrest.
“My client insists to me that he was brutally assaulted by the police and has a sharp pain in his chest,” Kuzani told the court.
The lawyer requested that the charge sheet be endorsed so that Meyer could receive the necessary medical assessment.
The state did not oppose the request.
State prosecutor Leswikane Mashabela, however, questioned the description of the alleged assault while making it clear that the prosecution was not objecting to Meyer receiving medical attention.
The allegation has not been tested in court, and no finding has been made that police officers assaulted Meyer.
The court’s decision to facilitate medical attention means the claim can now be assessed through the appropriate legal and medical processes.
Second suspect in deadly Reiger Park shooting
Meyer is the second person to be arrested in connection with the killings, which sent shockwaves through Reiger Park and the wider Ekurhuleni community.
The victims were Anti-Gang Unit Constables Thapelo Tlomatsana, 29, and Sphiwe Sibeko, 28, as well as civilians Roleen Lessing and Jaydin Margerman.
According to police, the two officers were conducting crime-prevention patrols when they heard gunfire.
They reportedly drove towards the source of the shooting, where they were allegedly ambushed.
The circumstances surrounding the attack remain under investigation.
Police have maintained that 23-year-old Collis is the alleged gunman.
Collis was arrested before Meyer and is currently being held at Modderbee prison for security reasons.
Dispute over where Collis should be detained
Tuesday’s proceedings also included an argument over Collis’s detention.
Kuzani, who represents the accused, asked the court to order that Collis be transferred to a correctional facility in Boksburg, which would be closer to the court.
The defence argued that Collis’s continued detention at Modderbee was not procedurally correct.
Kuzani told the court that although the parties may have reached an arrangement outside court, the appropriate legal procedure had not been followed.
The state opposed the immediate change, pointing to an existing court order authorising Collis’s detention at Modderbee until a specified date.
Mashabela told the court that the state could not simply withdraw the existing order and replace it without following the appropriate process.
Once the current order expires, he said, the state intends to bring a substantive application concerning Collis’s detention.
CCTV footage raises questions
The case has taken another unexpected turn following claims about CCTV footage that allegedly contradict the police’s version of events.
A source familiar with the investigation, who had viewed the footage, previously told IOL that Collis may not have been the person who carried out the shootings.
The footage has reportedly been viewed by IOL.
According to the source, Collis was inside his grandmother’s house when the shooting occurred.
The source alleges that the footage instead shows another man wearing a dark hoodie and red tracksuit pants shooting the two women before escaping in a silver-grey Volkswagen Polo.
Collis is allegedly seen afterwards confronting the man and telling him: “I saw you.”
These claims have not been tested in court and have not resulted in a judicial finding about who fired the fatal shots.
They nevertheless raise significant questions about the investigation and are likely to become important as the case progresses.
Alleged gang rivalry
The same source has alleged that Collis and his associates had a longstanding rivalry with a gang known as the Sour Boys.
It is further alleged that Collis and his friends had received threats from the group only hours before the shooting.
According to this version of events, the attack may have been intended for Collis and his associates rather than the police officers and civilians who ultimately died.
These allegations remain part of competing accounts surrounding the case and have yet to be established through evidence presented in court.
Two R5 rifles recovered
Collis was arrested during a police operation that resulted in the recovery of two R5 rifles at the KwaDukathole informal settlement in Germiston.
He faces a serious list of charges, including four counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
He also faces charges relating to the alleged possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
Collis made his first appearance in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court last week.
His case will now proceed alongside the allegations against Meyer as investigators continue working to establish what happened on the day of the shooting.
Reiger Park remains a gang hotspot
The latest killings have once again highlighted the persistent problem of gang violence and illegal firearms in Reiger Park.
The area has previously been identified as a crime hotspot requiring additional policing resources and coordinated interventions.
South African Police Service leadership has previously called for stronger intelligence operations, improved investigative capacity and greater coordination between law-enforcement agencies to tackle organised crime and gangsterism in communities such as Reiger Park.
The latest case also illustrates the difficulty investigators face when attempting to establish responsibility for shootings in communities where gang rivalries, threats and access to illegal firearms can complicate investigations.
What happens next
Meyer will remain in custody until his next court appearance on August 25, when he is expected to appear together with Collis for a formal bail application.
The prosecution will have to present its case for continued detention, while the defence is expected to challenge the state’s position and potentially place further information before the court.
Meyer’s allegation that he was assaulted during his arrest may also require further investigation, particularly if medical examinations reveal injuries consistent with his account.
Meanwhile, questions surrounding the identity of the alleged shooter are likely to remain central to the proceedings.
For now, Collis remains accused of being the gunman, while Meyer faces charges as the second accused. Both men are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The next court appearance could provide further clarity on the prosecution’s evidence, the CCTV claims and the circumstances surrounding Meyer’s arrest.
