DJ Warras killer gets 25-year prison term after plea deal in Johannesburg
The man who admitted killing South African entertainer Warrick “DJ Warras” Stock has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. The guilty plea closes one
The man who admitted killing South African entertainer Warrick “DJ Warras” Stock has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. The guilty plea closes one chapter in a case that has drawn attention in Johannesburg since Stock was shot dead in the city centre late last year.
Plea deal in the High Court
Joaquim Armando Pacula, a 25-year-old Mozambican national, entered a plea agreement with the State in the Johannesburg High Court on Friday. He admitted to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and contravening South Africa’s Immigration Act.
Pacula also told the court he shot Stock for R25,000. Four words. A life ended.
The sentence follows the killing of Stock on 16 December 2025 outside the Zambesi Building in Johannesburg’s central business district. He was 40.
Questions around a contract killing
Prosecutors and police had been treating the case as a possible hit. Earlier reporting linked the shooting to a wider investigation into a hijacked building, and police said they were looking into whether multiple suspects approached Stock before the fatal shooting.
The National Prosecuting Authority said the plea agreement was reached after consultation with the Stock family. Its spokesperson, Magaboke Mohlatlole, said the sentence shows the authority’s focus on violent and contract killings and on holding offenders accountable for the harm they leave behind.
Pacula’s conviction covers more than the shooting itself. It also brings immigration and weapons charges into the case, underlining how firearm crimes and cross-border movement often intersect in serious violent offences across southern Africa.
Co-accused case still open
One suspect remains before the court. The case against Victor Majola, who is accused in connection with premeditated murder, has been postponed to 17 August for the completion of the pre-trial conference.
That next court date now carries the weight of the unresolved parts of the investigation. The sentence is done. The wider case is not.
