Police man, three others jailed 70 years for robbery

A policeman and three others have been sentenced to a total of 70 years’ imprisonment by the Accra Circuit Court for robbing a supermarket at Nungua in Accra on December 12, 2017.

It was established, during the trial, that the convicts — Corporal Raymond Amegashie, Ibrahim Ayirebo, Bright Dorkanu and Stanley Akorli — entered the supermarket amid sporadic shooting and robbed the owner of GH¢45,000 and $1,000.

Cpl Amegashie was yesterday slapped with a 20-year jail term; Ayirebo will serve 18 years in prison, while Dorkanu and Akorli will each serve 16 years in prison.

The four had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to rob and robbery, but the court, presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh, found them guilty of the two charges.

Each of the convicts is to serve the respective sentence for the two charges, which will run concurrently.

Judgement

Delivering his judgement, Mr Tandoh held that the prosecution led evidence to establish the guilt of the accused persons beyond reasonable doubt.

According to him, evidence on record showed that the four played respective roles in the robbery, with Cpl Amegashie acting as the leader of the gang.

He said it was also established that the gang had planned to rob a mobile money vendor on December 11, 2017 but aborted that plan and rather robbed the supermarket on December 12, 2017.

“I found all the accused persons guilty of the offences of conspiracy and robbery,” he held.

Mr Tandoh further held that the sentences reflected the roles played by each of the convicts, with those who played major roles receiving more years in prison.

An interesting aspect of yesterday’s judgement was the reaction of sympathisers of the convicts who were in the courtroom to know the fate of their loved ones.

After the judgement, some of them broke down in tears, while others traded insults with one another.

Facts

The facts, as presented by the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Kwabena Adu, were that the complainant, Helen Asante, is a trader operating a supermarket around the Nungua branch of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).

Cpl Amegashie was stationed at the Tema Regional SWAT Unit; Ayirebo resided at Tema Community 1; Dorkanu resided at Ashiaman, while Akorli lived at the Tema Golf City.

According to the prosecutor, on December 12, 2017, Helen was in her supermarket at about 9 p.m. when she was attacked by the convicts.

The four, he said, had gone to the supermarket in a taxi, entered the shop amid sporadic shooting and succeeded in robbing the owner of GH¢45,000 and $1,000.

“The robbers, after succeeding in their robbery, boarded the taxi and sped off towards Tema,” the prosecutor added.

Chief Inspector Adu said Ayirebo, Dorkanu and Akorli were nabbed at the Community 18 Abattoir Police Checkpoint and GH¢19,942 and $600 were retrieved from them after the shop owner had lodged a complaint with the police.

Cpl Amegashie, the prosecutor explained, managed to escape with his AK 47 rifle and spent the night at the Tema Motorway Roundabout.

He returned his rifle the following day.

He was, however, nabbed at the Tsopoli Police Barrier in his attempt to flee.

Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh