A driver, Issah Iddrisu was on Monday sentenced to 30 years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court for robbing a woman of her car keys and two mobile phones at gunpoint at Gbawe in Accra.

Iddrisu, in his robbery attack, stabbed one Theophilus P Tetteh, the husband of the complainant, with a knife.

He was held on the charge of conspiracy, attempt to rob, robbery, causing unlawful harm, and possession of arms and ammunition without lawful authority.

Iddrisu pleaded not guilty but the Court presided over by Mrs. Afua Owusuwa Appiah however found him guilty on the charges and convicted him accordingly.

The Court had earlier on discharged Michael Asante aka Nana and Samuel Quartey aka Walker in absentia, noting that the prosecution could not make a case against them.

Handing the sentence on Iddrisu, the court said it considered the following; the use of both knife and pistol, the degree of injuries, the increase in robbery cases, the fact that the convict was a family man with three kids, and the fact that he had been on remand for three years, two months.

Inspector Samuel Ahiabor, the Prosecutor, said the complainant Eunice Tetteh was a businesswoman and resided at Gbawe Gonese in Accra while Iddrisu was a driver.

On August 2, 2018, at about 8:00 pm, the complainant returned home from work with her unregistered car.

Iddrisu armed with a pistol and a knife led Asante and Quartey to scale a fenced wall into the complainant‘s compound.

Iddrisu, according to the prosecution, ordered the complainant to surrender her car keys and two phones to him.

Complainant, who was overtaken with fear, handed over her mobile phones and keys to Iddrisu.

The prosecution said the complainant’s husband Theophilus Tetteh who was in the bathroom upstairs, overhearing some unusual noises and came down to find Iddrisu holding a gun pointed at his wife.

The prosecutor said Iddrisu turned the gun on the complainant’s husband and he struggled with Iddrisu and managed to disarm him.

The prosecution said Asante who was behind the door, tried to push it open so that he could help Iddrisu but the complainant’s husband prevented him.

According to prosecution, Asante sensing danger took to his heels and scaled the wall to escape.

Iddrisu having been disarmed of the gun, pulled out a knife and inflicted multiple wounds on the complainant’s husband. 

The prosecution said the complainant and daughter who went to the aid of Mr. Tetteh were also attacked by Iddrisu with a knife.

The complainant’s daughter went out and alerted neighbours who rushed to the rescue of the family and assisted them to apprehend Iddrisu together with the foreign pistol loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition and a knife.

The two phones of the complainant and car keys were also retrieved from the convict, who was later picked by the Police Patrol Team.

Prosecution said on August 14, 2018 Asante and Quartey were arrested.