By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Tema, July 11, GNA— The Tema Circuit Court ‘A’ presided over by Her Honour Mrs Agnes Opoku-Barnie has sentenced Michael Adzomani, a 31-year-old driver, to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour for abetment of robbery.
The court had deferred the judgement on June 27 due to the collapse of the accused at the premises of the court when he was brought there awaiting his fate and was rushed to the Tema Polyclinic for medical treatment.
Before the pronouncement of the judgement after a full trial, Adzomani pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, as according to him, his wife had delivered, and he needed to be around to cater for his family.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) George Doe, the prosecutor for the case, however, objected to the plea, informing the court that even though the accused was not known to the law, he played a critical role in the robbery by hooking the victim’s neck with a rope to the headrest of the car seat, indicating that the act could have resulted in the death of the victim.
ASP Doe added that money and some other valuables in the stolen car had still not been retrieved, noting that the car also got damaged in the attempt by Adzomani and his accomplices to change its colour into a private car.
According to the facts of the case, the complainant, Mr. Daniel Azure, a driver residing in Abokobi, a suburb of Accra, was driving a Toyota Vitz taxi cab on May 18, 2023, when the accused person, together with one Eric Gyimah and another, hired his services between the hours of noon and 1700 hours from Coral Paint Company at Tudu in Accra to Miotso near Central University in the Ningo-Prampram district.
They informed their victim that they were going to take a photograph of a building under construction to send to their brother abroad, and they agreed on a transportation fee of GHS250.
The prosecutor told the court that while Gyimah sat in the front seat with the driver, Adzomani and the third suspect occupied the back seats, adding that upon reaching the location, Gyimah directed the driver to veer towards a rough road, ordering him to stop along the way for Adzomani and the third person to get out to take the pictures, leaving the complainant and Gyimah in the car.
He said after some time, they returned, claiming they had taken the photographs, and instructed the victim to drive back to the main road. On the way, Adzomani, seated in the back, hooked his neck with a rope, causing him to suffocate.
The complainant halted the car, and Gyimah snatched the car ignition key from him while they pulled him out of the car, left him on the road, and drove off, leaving him helpless.
The facts stated that Adzomani drove the car with his accomplices to Sogakope in the Volta Region, and through investigations, Eric Gyimah was arrested, prosecuted, and jailed for 40 years for two different offences.
He said at the time of Gyimah’s sentence, Adzomani was on the run, adding that the police received information that Adzomani was involved in another robbery with a murder case and had been arrested by the Homicide Unit at the CID Headquarters in Accra in a similar incident at Klagon.
ASP Doe said he liaised with the Police Headquarters in Accra, suspecting that the modus operandi was connected to Gyimah’s accomplices, and their collaboration led to the arrest of Adzomani at his hideout in Agona.
GNA