Armed robber gets 15 years imprisonment in Tarkwa

The Tarkwa Circuit Court has sentenced an unemployed man to 15 years imprisonment in hard labour for conspiracy to commit crime, robbery and murder.

John Sonabon, 24, alias, one blood, denied rubbering the complainant, Anthony Kyei, a gold buyer, of a cash sum of GH￠9,000, iphone-11 valued GH￠3,000 and other valuable items, and at the end of trial he was found guilty.

The Prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Juliana Essel-Dadzie, told the court presided by Hathie Ama Manu, that the complainant, lives at Bondaye in the Prestea Huni-Valley municipality, while Sonabon is a resident of Gawusu and Obuasi.

She said on June 8, 2022, the convict, one Osei now on the run and Ashie Kwaku, now deceased hatched a plan to rob the complainant.

According to the prosecution on June 12, 2022, at about 1100 hours, the convict together with the deceased armed themselves with pistols and attacked the victim in his shop while Osei was hovering around to alert the others whilst the robbery was ongoing.

ASP Essel-Dadzie said the complainant fought with the robbers and in the process, they shot his right thigh and made away with the cash and the other items into a nearby bush.

Prosecution said some residents in the Bondaye community had information about the incident and pursued the robbers, but they managed to escape.

The prosecution said an hour later, Sonabon and Ashie resurfaced along the Bondaye-Prestea road where some irate youth in the area chanced on them however, the convict fled but Ashie was lynched by the mob.

ASP Essel-Dadzie said on the same day at about 1000 hours Sonabon was spotted by a witness at Bogoso township and he was arrested and handed over to the Police in Prestea.

The prosecution said during investigations, the convict admitted the charges and the complainant’s iPhone 11 was retrieved from him, but claimed he abandoned the pistol he used during the operation in the bush.