Three armed robbers were on Monday sentenced to a total 53 years imprisonment by the Accra Fast Track High Court for robbery. All the convicts, namely, Adjetey Sowah, alias Sheriff, 20, Nii Aryee Michael Kwasi, alias Daddy Lumba, 23, and Aryeetey Aryee Emmanuel, alias Kokote, 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and robbery and they were accordingly convicted and sentenced on their own pleas. The sentence was adjourned to Monday because the judge had asked the prosecution to investigate the background of the convicts to ascertain whether or not they had had any brush with the law. After the investigations, it came out that in 1999 Sheriff was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for conspiracy and stealing, under the name Paa Kwasi. Following that revelation, the judge considered robbery to be a more serious offence and convicted Sheriff and sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment on each count to run concurrently. Lumba and Kokote, who are first offenders, were sentenced to 18 years and 15 years, respectively. In Kokote's case, the court took his age into consideration. According to the facts of the case, at about 12.30 a.m. on January 27, this year, Lumba stopped a taxi, with registration number GW 8524 W, near the Kinbu Gardens in Accra and asked the driver to take him to the grounds where the funeral of the late Ga Mantse was being held. The prosecution said on their way, Lumba removed the ignition key of the car, pulled out a machete which was hidden in his trousers and attacked the driver. In the course of the struggle, Sheriff and Kokote emerged from their hideout and joined the fray. They inflicted wounds on the driver and took the car away from him, together with his Nokia mobile phone. The driver reported the incident to the police and luck ran out for Lumba and Kokote when they were arrested on the same day during a second robbery operation. They led the police to Sheriff's hideout where he was also arrested. When counsel for Lumba prayed the court for leniency, the judge replied that Lumba was the mastermind of the robbery and could not be treated leniently. Culled from Daily Graphic