Isaac Kwabena Darko, a driver who connived with two others to rob a gas filling station at Dansoman of Ghc 4,000, was on Friday arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court.
He was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery contrary to section 149 of the criminal offences Act of 1960.
Darko pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded into prison custody to reappear on November 19, 2009. However, his accomplices one Ayaa and one other person are at large.
Ms Mercy Arthur, a State Attorney who led the prosecution, said on April 22, 2009, the complainant, Jonah Sam, a sales attendant at the M 38 Gas Station together with another attendant Kwesi Boateng were on duty when two men on a motorbike parked at the station at about 2015 hours claiming to be waiting for a lady.
She said the two men waited for about four minutes and left and came back later with the rider holding a pistol and the other a machete.
The two men asked the attendants to comply with their directives or they would kill them.
Ms Arthur said the accused, Darko, lives across the road from the gas station and had come to the station to play draft with one of the attendants, Boateng, who was still at the station when the robbers arrived.
The two men managed to take out the drawer containing the day's sales amounting to Gh 4,000 cedis and sped off.
The robbers used the Dansoman/Sakaman main road and in the course of negotiating a sharp curve, the robber holding the drawer jumped off the motorbike and the drawer containing the money fell into a near by bush. Both robbers escaped.
She said Boateng, the attendant who had been playing the draft with the accused, ran after the robbers as they fled and saw the money drop.
Later when the owner of the station asked the attendants to look for the money in the bush, the accused suggested that since it was dark they should leave the search till early morning.
At about 2200 hours some mechanics saw Darko and two men in the bush with flash lights looking for the money.
She said the station attendants were called to the scene and Darko informed them that he had found the drawer but not the money. The attendants asked Darko to keep the drawer till the next day. They also informed their Managing Director and together with the assistants reported the matter to the Police.
She said the police arrested Darko and during interrogation he said that he planned the robbery with one Ayaa who also came along with another person to commit the robbery.
She said Darko said he purposely came to the station to engage one of the attendants in playing draft so as to lessen any resistance the attendants could put up.
Darko took the police Ayaa's place but he ran away when he saw the police.
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