Driver’s mate sentenced to 72 years for robbery
A driver’s mate who is part of a gang that targets mostly women has been sentenced to 72 years’ imprisonment by the Accra Circuit Court for committing three different robbery offences.
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The court, presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh, sentenced Benjamin Akwei to 24 years for each offence, to run consecutively.
The troubles of the convict are, however, not over, as he has another robbery case pending before the same court for which he has been remanded to reappear on April 20, 2016.
The other two members of the gang, Michael Appiah, alias Not Nice, and Anago Macho are, however, on the run.
Akwei was charged with conspiracy and robbery for each of the offences.
He was convicted on his own plea of guilty to all three charges.
Sentence
The court, however, sentenced him on the three charges of robbery and discharged him on the charges of conspiracy, stating that “the convict alone cannot conspire with himself to commit the offences”.
The presiding judge, in sentencing Akwei, said the manner in which he denied people of their hard-earned property warranted a deterrent sentence.
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According to the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Kwabena Adu, the gang attacked the first victim at her residence about 2 a.m. on February 4, 2016.
He said Akwei and his accomplices, armed with a machete, a pair of scissors, a cutter, a torch and a screw driver, entered the victim’s bedroom and robbed her of a laptop valued at GH¢1,600, two mobile phones valued at GH¢1,045 and cash of GH¢800.
“After the robbery, the gang took turns to have sex with the victim,” the prosecutor said.
He added that Akwei, who fit the description given by the victim, was arrested by the police on March 29, 2016 for a drug-related offence, adding that “an identification parade was conducted on April 1, 2016 and the victim identified him as one of the robbers who had attacked her”.
The second victim, the prosecution said, was attacked and robbed at her residence on February 20, 2016.
The third victim was attacked about 3:50 a.m. on March 3, 2016 in the same manner as the first two.
According to Chief Inspector Adu, the victim resisted initially and was subjected to severe beatings by the gang.
“Eventually, they succeeded in making away with her 32-inch plasma television set, one Iphone and cash of GHc1,000,” he said.