Fleeing armed robber trapped by thorns

A suspected armed robber, who run into thorny shrubs unknowingly in the bush as he got trapped by it has been arrested, as they pricked and demobilized him.

Godsway Awutey, 24, an ex-convict, has since appeared before an Aflao Circuit Court, charged with attempted robbery and causing unlawful harm.

He pleaded not guilty to both counts, and the court, presided over by Mr Ali Baba Abature remanded him into police custody.

The facts of the case as presented by the prosecution was that about 1900 hours on December 12, 2018, Awutey, suspiciously coming on a robbery spree from Ehi, near Dzodze, where he lived, engaged Kofi Afornofe, a motor rider at the Aflao border to convey him and an accomplice, now on the run, to the E. P. Basic School, Tokor, Diamond Cement Factory road.

The Prosecution said on reaching a spot at Gbugbla-Tokor, the victim halted the bike on suspicion, as the suspects were trying to direct him to an unfamiliar route.

The Prosecution said the accomplice rushed to seize the bike’s ignition key but the victim quickly removed and threw it into the bush.

According to the prosecution, when the key was thrown away Awutey was enraged and he stabbed the victim in the abdomen with a sharp object, seriously injuring him.

He said Awutey and his accomplice then began pushing the bike away, amidst cries by the victim on the ground in a pool of blood.

The prosecution said, fortunately, the lights of an oncoming motorbike reflected on the two, causing them to bolt into bush there.

The Prosecution said the oncoming rider assisted in raising an alarm which attracted residents some of whom rushed the victim to the Ketu South Municipal Hospital in Aflao, while a section pursued the suspects.

The prosecution said luck, however, eluded Awutey, who run into thorny bushes in a section of the unfamiliar bush, and having been pricked by thorns could no longer run leading to his arrest, but his accomplice escaped.

According to the prosecution, a search revealed a kitchen knife, a screwdriver and two mobile phones on the accused, who was later identified by the victim at an identification parade mounted by the police.

The prosecution said the surgery was carried out on the victim at the hospital but has since been discharged.