She may not have pulled the trigger that claimed a man’s life in Kariega more than two years ago, but Karen Webb allegedly supplied the gunman with the murder weapon.
It is for this reason that the beleaguered Bay firearms dealer’s case took a dramatic turn on Tuesday when she was charged with murder.
In addition to the string of charges she already faces for the alleged theft of firearms and the illegal transportation of weapons, Webb was formally charged with the October 2022 murder of Andrew Lamont in Rosedale, Kariega.
Through ballistic testing, the firearm used to kill Lamont was traced back to a firearm that was allegedly stored at Webb’s now defunct gun shop, Webb’s Arms.
It is further alleged that she provided that same firearm to a person unauthorised to possess it, knowing that it could be used in the commission of a violent crime.
The shocking information came to light when Webb, 41, returned to the Gqeberha magistrate’s court on Tuesday morning.
As Webb stood in the dock, state advocate Liezel Landman read out the new charge.
Webb’s day in court began dealing with the issue of alleged illegal transportation of firearms between Gqeberha and Sedgefield.
She stood next to her co-accused in that matter, Francois van der Merwe.
But after their case was postponed, and Van der Merwe, who is out on bail, left the court, Webb stood alone in the dock to face the murder allegations.
The entire saga dates back to November 2019 when the owner of Aquila Arms, Chris Evans, could no longer afford his business premises and started looking for suitable storage for the hundreds of firearms registered to his dealer stock.
He managed to secure storage at several locations, one of them being Webb’s Arms in Albany Road, Gqeberha.
He initially stored weapons in the same safe as Webb’s dealer stock but his stock was later moved to a separate safe on the same premises.
It is alleged by the state that Webb had a key to this safe and stole firearms from Evans’ stock.
Later, several firearms were recovered from crime scenes in Nelson Mandela Bay and as far afield as Gauteng and the Western Cape, all allegedly linked back to Evans’ dealer stock.
Further investigations revealed that none of these firearms came from any of the other premises where he had stored his firearms and could only be traced back to Webb’s Arms.
Evans and Webb then became the subjects of an investigation into how these firearms had allegedly found their way into the hands of criminals and known gangsters across the country.
Evans, in turn, reported several cases of theft of firearms against Webb when he realised his weapons had allegedly gone missing from the safe at the Albany Road premises.
Among these firearms was a Smith & Wesson .38-Special revolver — the weapon that has since been linked to Lamont’s murder.
According to documents before court, Webb is accused of supplying the weapon to a man who allegedly did not have a valid firearm licence.
“Karen Webb must have foreseen that providing a firearm to a person not entitled to possess a firearm might lead to the death of another person,” the court documents state.
On October 30 2022, Lamont was shot dead in Mallard Street, Rosedale, in Kariega, and ballistic testing linked his death to the firearm in question.
“Therefore, Karen Webb is guilty of the crime of murder,” the charge sheet states.
The murder case is the latest in a string of charges to be added to Webb’s lengthy charge sheet over the past year since her arrest in February 2024.
In addition to Evans accusing her of the theft of firearms, several more complainants have come forward alleging that they paid Webb for firearms that she failed to provide.
She is also the subject of an investigation for allegedly providing firearm competency training, a legal requirement before applying for a firearm licence, when she was not registered to do so.
Webb, along with Van der Merwe, 57, is also accused of failure to comply with the packaging requirements for the transportation of firearms as set out in the Firearms Control Act.
They allegedly transported up to 500 firearms from Webb’s Arms to premises in Sedgefield, covering them with little more than a canvas sheet on the back of a bakkie and open trailer.
Neither of the police’s Designated Firearms Officers in Gqeberha or Sedgefield were notified of the transportation as required by law.
Webb, who remains in custody after her failed attempt at bail, denies the allegations.
Meanwhile, while in custody, Webb was also allegedly caught in possession of a cellphone on two separate occasions and faces a separate investigation by the department of correctional services.
On Tuesday, Landman indicated that the state had completed its investigations and was ready for the matter to be transferred to a trial court.
Webb’s defence attorney, Paul Roelofse, has since instructed advocate Jason Thysse to join their legal team.
Van der Merwe’s legal representative, advocate Andre Knoetze, asked for the matter to postponed for an extended period of time as he intended to make representations to the Director of Public Prosecutions with regard to the charges against his client.
Thysse and Landman agreed to the postponement as the outcome of these representations could affect the charges against both accused.
Webb and Van der Merwe must now return to court on March 27.
Webb remains in custody.
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