The defence has questioned a key State witness about a black BMW, a disputed parking bay and his contact with another person linked to the property as cross-examination continued in the Ralph Stanfield trial at the Western Cape High Court.

Witness 4 was questioned about events at the Palm Springs Complex in Milnerton, where the State alleges Stanfield and others were involved in an incident linked to the removal of the BMW.

The questioning followed Monday’s presentation of CCTV footage showing an alleged assault on the witness. The witness identified Stanfield and two co-accused in the recording.

As proceedings resumed on Tuesday, the defence focused on the witness’s recollection of events at the complex and what he knew about the vehicle.

Defence questions witness about black BMW

Defence counsel asked the witness to confirm whether he had remained seated when he saw Stanfield’s entourage approaching the complex on the day of the incident.

The witness confirmed that he had remained seated because he believed their actions had nothing to do with him. He also said this particular moment was not captured on video footage.

The defence then questioned him about his interaction with the now-deceased accused, who appeared to be dressed in blue in the footage and approached him to initiate a conversation.

The witness described the exchange as polite and said it was a normal conversation.

During the interaction, the man in blue asked the witness about the black BMW parked at the complex.

The witness told the court that he had not seen the vehicle arrive and only noticed it after it had already been parked.

Defence counsel established that, because the witness had not seen who brought the vehicle onto the premises, he could not identify the person responsible for parking it.

The witness also agreed that the BMW did not belong to any tenant or resident at the complex.

He maintained that when he told the man in blue he did not know who had brought the BMW onto the premises, he was telling the truth.

The witness confirmed, however, that he knew the person associated with the parking bay. He said the individual lived directly above his unit, B110, when he was still a resident at Palm Springs Complex.

Asked whether he had contacted the person, the witness confirmed that he had called him, explaining that people were looking for him.

The defence also questioned how he had obtained the individual’s contact number.

The witness said they had exchanged numbers previously when he needed a parking space. However, he maintained that they were not friends.

State calls towing company witness

Before calling the next witness, State prosecutor Frank van Heerden sought to clarify an aspect of Witness 4’s earlier testimony.

The next witness is affiliated with Cape Road Assistance, the towing company summoned to remove the BMW.

Van Heerden told the court that Stanfield had no permission to go through the witness’s phone and that the witness had only allowed him to do so because he was fearful after being slapped.

The clarification related to the witness’s earlier account of the alleged confrontation, during which he testified that Stanfield had slapped him.

The new witness’s testimony was expected to continue at the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday.