An Accra circuit court yesterday sentenced two persons to a total of 27 years imprisonment with hard labour for their involvement in two separate robbery incidents in Accra.
The convicts, Bright Arma, driver and Awal Iddirisu aka Half Dollar, unemployed, are reported to have robbed their respective victims of their mobile phones and various sums of money.
In the case of Bright, the prosecutor, Superintendent K. Bempah, said on January 28, this year, he robbed one Sandrick Mensah of her Galaxy S5 phones worth GH¢1,000, a Nokia phone valued at GH¢80 and GH¢300 cash.
Regarding Half Dollar’s role, the prosecutor, DSP Patience Mario, indicated that he robbed one Daniel Mensah, a trader, of his Infinix Note 4 phone worth GH¢370 and GH¢220 cash.
Before trial judge Aboagye Tandoh, the two variously admitted the charges and were convicted on their own guilty pleas.
Sentencing the duo in separate judgements, the judge decried the seeming upsurge of robbery in the country and its negative impact of scaring investors away from the country.
He said the behaviour of the two was one which ought to be discouraged by the society and as a result, jailed Bright for 17 years and Half Dollar for 10 years, to serve as deterrent to others.
Prosecuting, Supt. Bempah said Bright is a driver and that at 1am on the said day, the Charlie Swat 8 patrol team arrested and brought him to the police station with the explanation that whilst the team was on its usual patrols at Weija in Accra, they spotted the complainant running and screaming for help.
He said the team rushed to the scene and rescued the complainant from Bright.
Supt. Bempah stated that investigation disclosed that Sandrick chartered the accused person’s Kia Rio taxi with registration number GS 5927-13 to Tuba, also a suburb of Accra.
He said on reaching Ayigbe Town junction near the toll booth, Bright stopped and parked the car at the side of the road, adding that he then pulled out a Fanta lemon bottle containing powdered pepper mixed with water and sprayed it into the eyes of Sandrick.
The senior police officer further stated that Bright then attacked the complainant, pulled her out of the car and bolted with the afore-stated items.
Sandrick chased him until the police team heard her screaming and rushed to rescue her. In his caution statement, the accused admitted the offence and led the police to the crime scene.
DSP Mario, narrating the series of events leading to the arrest of Half Dollar, said the convict and his accomplices had been on the radar of the police for coming to Nungua, near Abrefi Spot, to rob residents of their valuables.
The court heard that on January 21 at 10pm, Half Dollar and three others, wielding short cutlasses, attacked Daniel Mensah and robbed him of the said items.
Daniel spotted Half Dollar at the same spot and alerted his friends who assisted him to arrest him and sent him to the police station where he, in his caution statement, admitted the offence.
By Jeffrey De-Graft JohnsonÂ
jeffdegraft44@yahoo.com