A twenty-eight (28) year old convict, who is already serving an 18 year jail term has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court.
The convict, Joshua Kudjo, who was identified in a Police identification parade by his victim, threatened her with a big hammer and absconded with her US$3,100, one Ipad phone, two reading glasses and other valuables.
The convict had pleaded not guilty to the charge of robbery, contrary section 149, Act 29/60, leveled against him in the court presided over by Justice Francis Obiri. Kudjo, prior to the pronouncement of his sentence pleaded with the court that he has one child and a wife.
The judge consequently sentenced him into 10 years imprisonment in hard labour. He added that the twenty (20) years should run concurrent with the eighteen (18) he was already serving.
Facts The complainant is a public servant and a resident of West Legon, whiles the convict is claiming to be an electrician and a resident of Kuntunse in the Greater Accra. On November 10, 2014, the complainant attended a funeral at East Legon and at about 9:30pm, on her return she drove through the road that links Fiesta Hotel and GIMPA.
The complainant, on reaching the ‘T’ junction at the GIMPA/Legon road, stopped to give way to the traffic on the left. As soon as she stopped, the convict emerged from a nearby bush and forcibly opened the front side of the passenger door and laid his hand on the complainant’s handbag, which was lying on the front seat.
The convict threatened the complainant with a big hammer he was holding, when she attempted to prevent the convict from taking the bag. She became frightened and eventually the convict succeeded in taking the handbag containing US$3,100, one Ipad phone, two reading glasses and a bunch of keys, after which he run back into the bush. The complainant reported the incident to the police for investigation.
On November 28, 2014, at about 8pm, the convict was spotted hiding in the bush at the same spot to embark on another operation, but he was arrested by the police patrol team, together with the hammer.
In the course of investigation, an amount of US$200 was retrieved from his room and investigations also established that he had directed a witness in the case to convert US $2,900 into Ghana Cedis and deposited same into his bank account at Ecobank.
Investigation at the Stop Over Forex Bureau in Tesano, a suburb of Accra, indicated that on December 2014, the witness came to change US$ 2,900. Further investigations at Ecobank indicated that same day GH¢8,060 was deposited in the convict’s account at the bank and the pay in slip was retrieved and kept for evidential purpose.
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