From George Ernest Asare, Kumasi.
THE High Court in Kumasi, presided over by Justice K.A. Pobih, has convicted a 38-year-old armed robber to serve a 35-year jail term with hard labour.
The convict, Kwadwo Ampong, alias Kwaa Addai, who pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to rob and robbing at gunpoint, later changed his plea to guilty in the course of the trial, and based on his plea, the court convicted him.
His accomplice, Osei Kwame, who, however, maintained his plea of not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to rob and robbing at gunpoint, has been remanded in prison custody by the court.
Two of their accomplices, identified only as Desmond and Muhammed, are at large, and the police are hunting for them to face trial, while another suspect, who was alleged to have bought the booty from the convict, and his accomplice, Jacob Fares, has been granted bail by the court in the sum of GH¢10,000.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Mr Ernest Offei, told the court that the complainants in the case , who are Ghanaians residing in Canada, visited the country in May 2005.
He said a few days after their return to Ghana, they were attacked by armed robbers in their residence at Gyinyase, a suburb of Kumasi.
The prosecutor explained that armed with guns, the convict and his accomplices broke into their house between 1.30 am and 2am on May 25, 2005.
Mr Offei said as soon as the robbers succeeded in breaking into the house of the complainants, they started firing indiscriminately, attacking the inmates of the house and shouting at them to bring all their jewellery.
He said to show that they were very serious about their threats, they pointed their loaded guns at the inmates and forced them to surrender all their valuables, including cash.
According to the prosecutor, the robbers also subjected some of the inmates of the house to severe beatings, slapping and punching them at will and succeeded in inflicting injuries in their eyes and other parts of their body.
Mr Offei said after the robbers had escaped with their booty, the victims reported their ordeal to the police.
He said not satisfied with their booty, the convict and his accomplices again attacked a taxi driver near the Atwima Rural Bank at Asokwa in Kumasi and snatched his taxi from him at gunpoint.
He said the policeman on duty witnessed the encounter, but since he could not contain the situation alone, he called for reinforcement.
He said before the reinforcement team arrived at the scene, the driver had sneaked to the Asokwa Police Station to lodge a complain.
Mr Offei said while at the police station, the convict, together with Osei Kwame, now on remand, also drove the stolen taxi to the police station to lodge a complaint that they had been attacked by a security man at a bank.
He said it was at that point that the taxi driver identified his attackers and quickly informed the police about the ordeal he suffered in their hands a few minutes earlier.
The prosecutor said the police arrested the convict and his accomplice and during a search conducted in the taxi, a shotgun, a pump action gun, a dagger, two fake police uniforms, three masks and 20 live cartridges were found in the taxi.
Mr Offei said the police also found in the taxi a bag belonging to the taxi driver and the pieces of jewellery belonging to the victims they attacked at Gyinyase as well as two Motorola mobile phones they snatched from their victims at Gyinyase.
According to the prosecutor, the police also retrieved a Panasonic phone they stole from the taxi driver.
He said during investigations the police arrested Jacob Fares as the one who bought the items stolen from the complainant at Gyinyase.
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