Thief jailed 21 years after returning to pick charger of laptop he stole

A notorious laptop thief, Nicholas Tetteh is blaming unknown forces after being handed a 21-year jail term by the Ho Circuit Court on Friday, September 11, 2020.

The 28-year-old father of one was slapped with the jail term after pleading guilty to counts of robbery and stealing, the Ghanaian Times reports.

Presenting facts of the case to the court presided over by Mr Felix Datsomor, Chief Inspector N. K Kumekeh told the court that Tetteh attacked a student of a tertiary institution in Ho on September 7, 2020.

According to the Prosecution Officer, Tetteh attacked his victim with a flick knife and a screwdriver in his sleep at his hostel, robbed the student of items including a Dell laptop computer, a cellular phone and an amount of GHC1,000 after which he fled.

The prosecution as per Ghanaian Times report further narrated that Tetteh after realizing he had failed to pick up the laptop charger, hid his loot in a nearby bush and returned to the room for the charger.

Unfortunately for Tetteh, he was spotted by some students who gave him a hot chase and in his attempt to escape tried jumping over the wall of the hostel and landed in a compromising situation which resulted in him fracturing his right knee.

He was subsequently arrested by the students and handed over to the police together with his loot.

He is said to have admitted to the offence in his statement and was charged with robbery.

The Prosecution further told the court that the convict committed a similar act of robbery a day earlier when he jumped the wall of another student’s hostel in the Ho township, sneaked into a student’s room and made away with a laptop computer, mobile phone and an accessory to the phone.

The prosecution told the court that the self-acclaimed driver and satellite dish installer after investigations was also found to be involved in another incident of stealing in which the police was led to a location at Ho Power House, where the stolen items were retrieved.

The Magistrate, Mr Felix Datsomor after listening to the case pronounced judgement of 18 years imprisonment for robbery and three years for stealing on Felix Tetteh which he is supposed to serve concurrently.

The Ho Municipal Commander, ASP Alex Yeboah has described the conviction as appropriate, saying Tetteh had become a thorn in the flesh of the people in Ho.