Police Officer arraigned for robbery

A Police Officer, Stephen Kwenor Appenteng, has been arraigned at an Accra Circuit Court for conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery, contrary to sections 23 and 149 of the Criminal Offences Act.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges but was remanded into police custody, to reappear on July 9, 2013.

Stephen was said to have conspired with five other men, now at large, to carry out robbery at Community 12, Tema in the Greater Accra Region.

Prosecution, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Reindolf Agyemang told the court presided over by Mr Francis Obiri that the complainant, Justice Senyo Dzamefe was an Appeal Court Judge and lives in Community 12, Tema.

He said the accused, General Constable Stephen Kwenor Appenteng, was a police Officer of the Ghana Police Service and stationed at Community 11, Tema.

He said the accused was detailed for night armed guard duty for the week commencing Sunday June 2, 2013 to Saturday June 8, 2013 at the complainant’s residence.

DSP Agyemang said on June 7 at about 0745 hours, the accused, armed with AK47 rifle reported for duty at the complainant’s residence and was expected to close at 0500 hours the next day June 8 2013.

He said the accused left the duty post a few minutes thereafter with his loaded rifle to Ashiaman and at about 0100 hours he led a gang of about five accomplices also armed with a hammer, machete and industrial cutter, to the complainant’s residence.

The Prosecution said the accused rather served as a security guard to his accomplices whiles they diffused and cut aside the electrical wire gauze installed on the fence wall around the premises.

On gaining access into the compound, the accomplices saw the night watchman who had for some time been raising an alarm and assaulted him.

He said whilst one mounted guard on the watchman and was continuously manhandling him, the remaining broke into the other apartments, ransacked the rooms and took possession of a deck, two laptops, three mobile phones, ignition keys of two cars, unspecified sum of money and documents.

He said as the gang entered the house, they forced a house girl to identify the master bedroom where the complainant and his family had entered to secure themselves, and all this while, the accused communicated on the phone to alert the accomplices of police patrol teams approaching the scene.

DSP Agyeman said upon questioning the accused about his whereabouts during the time of the crime, he claimed he was admitted at the Tema General Hospital when he left his duty point.

The prosecution said that was found to be untrue as later investigations revealed that he secured an OPD document and falsified the date on the card.

DSP Agyemang said investigations were, however, ongoing.