Teenager jailed 15 years for assault, robbery

A 19-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison by an Accra Circuit Court for stabbing a student in Accra.

Evans Asante also made away with the student’s mobile phone and backpack containing a laptop after the assault, the court heard.

The court, presided over by Ms Adelaide Abui Keddey, convicted Asante after he pleaded guilty to two counts of causing harm contrary to section 69 of the Criminal Offences (Act 29), and robbery contrary to section 149 of Act 29.

What happened

The court heard that at about 1:45 a.m. on April 2, 2021, a police patrol team on routine duties chanced on the victim, Prince Senyogah, with two stab wounds on his back and left wrist while he was lying in the middle of the road near the National Theatre in Accra.

Senyogah told the police team that he had been robbed of his mobile phone and backpack containing a laptop by a young man who was wielding a knife.
With the help of Senyogah, who showed the police the route of the fleeing culprit, the police traced Asante and arrested him about 200 metres away.

Search

A search on Asante led to the retrieval of the Huawei mobile phone and the backpack containing the HP laptop — both as described by the victim

A pair of scissors and a jack knife were also retrieved from Asante.

The patrol team took Senyogah to the Police Hospital, from where he was referred to the Accra Regional Hospital where he was admitted for treatment.