Two jailed for stealing
The Odumase-Krobo Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Asmah Akwasi Asiedu, has sentenced a driver’s mate and an unemployed to 36 months’ imprisonment each with hard labour for conspiracy to commit crime and stealing.
Jacob Apayin, aka Agaa, 29, the driver’s mate, and Daniel Somuah, 23, the unemployed, pleaded guilty to both charges.
Chief Inspector John Akuetteh, the prosecutor, said the complainant, Hayford Asante, was a shopkeeper at Combine, a suburb of Akosombo, whilst Apayin and his accomplice also lived in the same community.
The prosecutor said Asante on January 11, 2014, went to his shop with his shop assistant who was the witness in the case and after opening the shop, he left the shop for a nearby food joint to buy some food, leaving his assistant in the shop.
He said on his return, the assistant shopkeeper informed Asante that Apayin came to the shop with the intention of buying speakers but he could not afford them.
According to the prosecutor, the shop assistant said immediately Apayin left the shop, he (the assistant shopkeeper) detected that a laptop displayed on the shelf for sale was nowhere to be found.
Chief Inspector Akuetteh said the shop assistant claimed he suspected Apayin to be the one who took the laptop and, therefore, reported the theft to the Akosombo Police.
The prosecutor said whilst the case was under investigation, Apayin had information that the police were looking for him and sensing danger, he left the laptop near a junior high school in the area and called the police to inform them to go and retrieve the laptop computer from there.
According to Chief Inspector Akuetteh, the police followed the direction and picked the laptop but Apayin went into hiding.
He said on January 22, following a tip-off, the police arrested Apayin from his hideout.
He later mentioned Somuah as his accomplice and he was also picked up.
In their caution statement, both Apayin and Somuah admitted the offence, with the explanation that they both conspired to steal the computer from the shop.