The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly court, presided over by Abdul Razak Musah, has sentenced a 36-year-old carpenter to 25 years imprisonment for robbery.
Kwesi Amoako, also known as Kofi Prince, pleaded not guilty and was convicted by the court after he was found guilty of the offence.
Police Chief Inspector Bismark Debrah told the court that the complainant, Kofi Appiah, is a driver and resides at Brofoyedu-Adumasa in Kumasi.
The convict also resides at Pipiiso near Asokwa in the Adansi-North District of the Ashanti Region.
Police Chief Inspector Debrah told the court that on December 21, 2020, at about 8:pm, the convict and his accomplice, one Kofi Tony, now deceased, agreed together with a common purpose to go on a robbery expedition.
The court heard that at about 9:pm on the said date, the complainant was working with his Toyota Vitz taxi, with registration number AS 9644-20, within the Kumasi Metropolis.
The Prosecution said the convict and the deceased approached the complainant at Asafo-Market and told him to take them to Boadi near the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for a fare of ¢30.
He said the complainant agreed and picked the two persons, adding that the convict sat behind the driver on the back seat while the deceased sat at the front seat.
Police Chief Inspector Debrah said the complainant drove them to Boadi, but they could not execute their plan of robbing him at the said place.
He said the two then redirected the driver to Asokore-Mampong, and upon reaching a section of the road at an area near Nsenie, the convict pulled a locally manufactured pistol.
According to the prosecution, the convict then pointed the gun at the complainant from behind and ordered him to stop.
Police Chief Inspector Debrah said the complainant was reluctant, and as a result, the convict hit him on his left cheek with the pistol, making him sustain a cut in the process.
Mr Debrah said the deceased in the struggle was said to have forcibly turned off the engine of the vehicle and removed the ignition key.
He said the court heard that the complainant out of fear of being killed alighted.
Chief Inspector Debrah said the convict then sat behind the steering wheel and drove off with the complainant’s vehicle valued GH₵30,000.00, which contained the latter’s driving license, mobile phone and cash of GH₵200.00.
According to the Prosecution, the complainant reported the incident to the Asokore- Mampong Police.
Following the report, a police wireless message was immediately relayed to all stations, barriers and patrol teams to be on the lookout.
Police Chief Inspector Debrah said luck run out for the fleeing criminals as on their way to Agogo to sell the said vehicle to one Bobo at the cost of ¢10,000; they were involved in an accident.
At about 11:am, he said that police received information from the Konongo Police that the said vehicle had been involved in a fatal accident at Duampompo near Konongo in the Asante-Akim Central Municipality.
According to reports, the convict sustained various degrees of injury and was later treated at the hospital and discharged, while his accomplice died on the spot.
Police Chief Inspector Debrah said during investigations, the complainant later identified the culprits and the vehicle, which had been damaged beyond repairs.
He said the convict admitted the offence in his caution statement.