Musician Jailed 20 Years For Robbery

A 35-year-old musician, who confessed killing his grandmother for raising the alarm while being robbed at Darkuman Official Town in Accra, was on Tuesday sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by a high court in Accra.

Prince Possible Ayitey Young, who was charged with robbery and remanded since 2006, pleaded guilty.Young made away with two television sets, two sets of computers, a digital camera, a Sanyo tape recorder, and blood pressure monitor all totaling GHC2,970.

Mrs Mercy Arthur, a State Attorney told the court presided over by Mr Justice Charles Quist that the complainant was a contractor while Young was based at Takoradi.

The prosecution said on August 23, 2006, the complainant went to work and left behind Margaret Plange, 83, now deceased, and her mentally handicapped child.

Mrs Arthur said that the complainant while at work at about 1730 hours received a phone call from a neighbour that she ( the neighbour) had not seen Margaret Plange, who is also grandmother of the accused. The prosecution said that when the complainant rushed home, he realized that his room had been ransacked, the items stolen and he found the deceased lying in a pool of blood in the toilet.

Mrs Arthur said a report was made to the Police and the corpse was sent to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for autopsy and on the following day, August 24, 2006, a digital camera which was among the stolen items was seen at one Alex Boateng’s Photo Studio and he was arrested.

During interrogation, Boateng told the Police that it was the accused who sold the camera to him at GH 250 cedis and he (Boateng) paid to the accused GH 200 cedis and he (the accused) would come for the rest of the money.

The prosecution said when the accused came for his money he was arrested and he confessed killing the deceased, because she raised the alarm.