Two men convicted of shooting dead two Cape Town teenagers and injuring three others got hefty jail sentences in the Blue Downs Regional Court in Cape Town on Thursday.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Andrè Traut said Preston Presence, 23, was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment for the murders of Nikita Hallie, 16, and Keesha Manuel, 17, in Kraaifontein in 2015.

He was also handed 15 years for the attempted murder of the three people who were wounded.

Marlon Swartz, 22, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for each murder, 15 years for one count of attempted murder, and two 10-year sentences for the other two attempted murders.

The two teens were killed when Presence and Swartz walked up to a group of seven people in Petunia Street, Kraaifontein, in July 2015, and opened fire.

Both men ran away, but Presence was arrested during a high school athletics meeting at the Bellville Velodrome and Swartz was tracked down to a farm outside Ladismith by detective Sergeant Otto Landsberg.

Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula expressed his appreciation to the investigating officer for the “sterling investigation” which resulted in the convictions.

(Source: News24)