The first prosecution witness in the trial of a policeman and his three accomplices, who allegedly robbed a supermarket at Nungua in Accra, has told an Accra Circuit Court that the police officer was in uniform when he allegedly committed the crime.
The witness, Ellen Asante, said Corporal Raymond Amegashie and Ibrahim Ayeribo fired warning shots before entering the shop.
She told the court that on December 12, 2017 at about 9:30pm, a taxi stopped behind her at the supermarket.
Led in her evidence-in-chief by Chief Inspector Kwabena Adu, she said nobody came out of the vehicle for some time, but Corporal Amegashie and Ibrahim Ayeribo later alighted.
Ms Asante said when she saw Amegashie in his police uniform, she took him to be one of the police officers who usually buy items at the shop.
Ellen Asante narrated that the two accused persons marched her to the supermarket and demanded money.
“I pointed at a box and they took it and when they shook it there was no money inside so they asked me again where the money was and I pointed at another box and when they shook it, it was also empty,” she said.
“I then showed them a container and when they opened it they found GH?4,500 and $1,000 and before they left, they fired shots into the air many times, she said.
Ms. Asante also told the court that at the time Corporal Amegashie and Ayeribo were searching for the money in the shop, Bright Dorkanu was behind the taxi while Stanley Akorli was in the vehicle.
She told the court that after the alleged robbers escaped with their booty, she went to the Nungua Police Station to lodge a complaint.
Cross-examination
Lawyer for Corporal Amegashie, Paul Abariga, who cross-examined the witness, put it to her that she had never seen Amegashie in her life, but the woman insisted that she saw him at the supermarket.
The lawyer asked the witness whether the accused persons looked like customers when she initially saw them, but witness said since they were not wearing masks she thought they were customers.
The presiding judge, Aboagye Tandoh adjourned the matter to February 9, 2018 for the defence lawyer to conclude his cross-examination.
Background
Raymond Amegashie, a police corporal and his three accomplices allegedly attacked a supermarket at Nungua in the Greater Accra Region.
The police officer on the night of the robbery reportedly abandoned his post at Glotec Ghana Limited where he was detailed for guard duty – with his AK47 rifle and 20 rounds of ammunition.
They allegedly made away with GH?45,000 and US$1,000.
Corporal Raymond Amegashie, who is attached to the Tema SWAT Unit and believed to be the leader of the robbery gang, managed to escape after the robbery incident but was later arrested at Tsopoli Barrier on his way to the Volta Region.
The other three accused persons, Ibrahim Ayirebo, motor rider; Bright Dorkanu, mechanic and Stanley Akorli, driver, were arrested at Abbatoir, a police snap checkpoint on December 12, 2017 after they tried to escape in a taxi with registration number GX 9514 –14.
By Gibril Abdul Razak