Street v The State

Patrick Perreira Caetano died from a stab wound sustained during an altercation outside the Blueberry Grill restaurant in Kyalami on 29 December 2002. Jonathan Street (the appellant) admitted to punching the deceased but denied stabbing him. The State’s main witness, Guil Yahav, admitted to slashing the deceased with a knife and alleged that the appellant had delivered the fatal stab. The appellant’s version was that Yahav alone used the knife and that he (the appellant) disengaged after throwing the knife down. The regional court convicted the appellant of murder and sentenced him to 15 years’ imprisonment. On appeal, the High Court set aside the murder conviction but substituted it with a conviction for being an accessory after the fact to murder, imposing a five-year sentence. The appellant then appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal succeeded. The conviction for being an accessory after the fact to murder and the five-year sentence were set aside. The conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court were replaced with a conviction for common assault and a sentence of a R6 000 fine or six months’ imprisonment, half of which was suspended for three years on condition that the appellant is not convicted of an assault-related offence resulting in imprisonment without the option of a fine.

The case clarifies the requirements for liability as an accessory after the fact, particularly that an accused cannot be an accessory where he believes himself to be the perpetrator. It reinforces the principle that appellate courts may not substitute convictions based on factual findings unsupported by evidence and confirms the availability of common assault as a competent verdict on a murder charge under section 258(e) of the Criminal Procedure Act.