Pretoria - A Boksburg businessman faces a multi-million rand damages claim following the death of a security guard who, in responding to a burglary at business premises, was shot and killed.
The security guard, Clinton Warnock, had been working for AAA Alarms, and died in hospital on October 16, 2016, as a result of gunshot.
It is claimed he was shot by the business owner, Manuel de Jesus Da Silva Guimaraes, during an altercation with intruders. But he told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria that it was not he who shot the guard.
A charge of murder was brought against him, but the State declined to prosecute.
Warnock’s widow Chantelle Warnock, of Edenvale, and his former wife, Maya Trunbull, who lives in the UK, claimed damages totalling more than R3 million from Guimaraes.
In the case of Turnbull, the claim is on behalf of Warnock’s daughter.
They state in court papers that as a result of Warnock’s death, there is no financial support for his widow and his child.
Chantelle is claiming R2.2m in damages for the emotional trauma she has suffered due to her husband’s death, and for funeral expenses, while Turnbull’s claim is for R1.2m.
On the night of October 16, 2016, the alarm went off at the business.
Security guards were dispatched and they discovered a burglary in progress. Guimaraes was alerted and rushed to the premises.
It is claimed that as Warnock was pinning one of the suspects down, tying his hands with cable ties, Guimaraes became agitated and took out his handgun. A shot went off which hit Warnock, as well as the suspect.
According to the two women’s lawyer, when it became apparent that Warnock was injured, Guimaraes -according to witnesses - apologised, promised to call an ambulance, and left the scene.
However, Guimaraes said nobody witnessed the shooting and, in any event, the State would not withdraw a murder charge against him if it believed he was guilty. He accused the two women of being vexatious and trying to “extort” him.
He asked the court to order that the two pay R250 000 into the lawyer’s account to serve as security for the legal costs incurred in the case, as it was clear they would not be able to pay his legal fees when he won the case.
Judge Johan Louw, however, turned down his application and slapped him with the legal bill for the security of costs application. The claim by the two women will now proceed at a later date.