The Bekwai Circuit Court has sentenced one of three suspected armed robbers arrested on October 23, 2017 at Okurase, near Jacobu in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region to 30 years’ imprisonment in hard labour.
Stephen Boadi, 22, was slapped with the prison term for robbing a gold dealer, Prince Owusu, of six pounds of gold, a digital scale machine, gold gas blower worth GHȼ200 and cash of GHȼ2,100, totaling GHȼ9,700 by the court, presided over by Fredrick Enold Kwasi Nawura.
He reportedly embarked on the robbery with two others, one Ashadow and an unidentified man, who are currently at large.
Stephen, who was convicted on his own plea, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery, contrary to Sections 23(1) and 149 of Act 29/60 respectively.
The prosecutor, Detective Inspector Stephen Ofori, informed the court that the incident happened on October 23, 2017 around 4:00 pm at Okurase, a farming community, near the district capital, Jacobu.
According to him, the complainant, Prince Owusu, who is a businessman, and his brother travelled on a motorbike from their home at Oseikrom, a nearby village, to Okurase on that day to buy gold.
While they were transacting the business, the prosecution said Stephen Boadi and his gang spied on them.
Detective Ofori narrated that the robbers laid ambush at a nearby bush along the road where they emerged and attacked the businessman and his brother with a locally made pistol and cutlasses.
The police prosecutor said the armed robbers shot the rear tyre of the motorbike to render the complainant and his brother immobile before attacking them.
Inspector Ofori revealed that the complainant raised alarm, which forced the armed robbers to flee from the scene and attracted members of the community to the scene.
The prosecutor indicated that luck however eluded Stephen Boadi when he was identified on the outskirts of Kwapiakrom by the complainant.
The complainant and the village folks apprehended the convict and later handed him over to police, the prosecution told the court.
The convict admitted the offence in his caution statement and led the police to the crime scene where further evidence was gathered.
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