A Ho Circuit Court has sentenced a "notorious serial 'laptop thief'" to 21 years imprisonment.

The convict, Nicholas Tetteh, blamed his irresistible tendencies to steal on ‘unknown forces’ after he was arrested by the police last Friday.

This was after the 28-year-old father of one, pleaded guilty to the counts of robbery and stealing.

Chief Inspector N.K. Kumekeh, told the court presided by Felix Datsomor that on September 7, 2020 at about 2:30am, Tetteh robbed a student of a tertiary institution in Ho.

He said, Tetteh attacked the student, who was asleep in his hostel with a flick knife and screwdriver and robbed him (student) of Dell laptop computer, cellular phone and ¢1,000, and fled.

However, on the way out of the hostel, Tetteh realised that he had left behind the charger to the laptop, and he hid the computer in the bush nearby and returned to the hostel room to take the charger.

Chief Insp Kumekeh said luck eluded the convict, and some students chased him, and in an attempt to escape, scaled the wall of the hostel and landed awkwardly and fractured his right knee.

The students arrested Tetteh and handed him and the booty over to the police.

According to prosecution, Tetteh admitted the offence in his statement to the police and was subsequently charged with robbery.

Chief Insp Kumekeh said that Tetteh was found to have committed a similar offence a day earlier when he scaled the wall of another student’s hostel in Ho and sneaked into the room of a student and took away laptop computer, cellular phone and an accessory to the phone.

Prosecution said Tetteh, who claimed to be a driver and a satellite dish installer, was also found to be involved in another stealing case in which he led the police to a hideout at the Ho Power House to retrieve stolen items.

The court sentenced Tetteh to 18 years imprisonment for robbery and three years for stealing, with the jail terms to run consecutively.

Meanwhile, the Ho Municipal Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police Alex Yeboah has described Tetteh’s conviction as appropriate, saying the robber was a thorn in the flesh of the public.