Cop Robbers In Court

It is emerging that the two serving police officers who attempted robbing the GCB Bank bullion van that was coming from Donkorkrom in the Eastern Region had always harboured the intention to rob.

According to the prosecution, the two, General Lance Corporals Solomon Elvis Mensah and Daniel Kissi Abrokwah, had the intention to rob the vehicle which had always come to Donkorkrom to supply money to the bank.

“The two accused policemen, who were on duty at the GN and GCB Banks respectively, decided to exercise their plan of robbing the bullion van of any cash it was carrying,” according to the prosecution.

This was contained in the prosecution's charge sheet presented at the Accra central district court yesterday when the two cop robbers and their civilian counterpart, Hafisu Mohammed aka Danjuma, a mechanic, were hauled before the court.

Charges
The prosecution, led by DSP Abraham Annor, told the court that the three on August 16, this year, at Mame-Krobo near Tease in the Eastern Region, conspired and acted together with a common criminal objective to commit crime, to wit: murder.

The two policemen have been slapped with additional charges of attempted robbery and murder.

In the murder case, the prosecution stated that the cops at the same place and date caused the death of one Daniel K. Sarpong, 52, the driver of the Nkawkaw GCB Bank bullion van with registration number GN 1354-15.

The prosecutor, DSP Annor, disclosed that on the said day, the policemen discussed the plan to rob the van with Danjuma, a cabbie who is their friend.

He said the policemen waylaid the van at a spot between Tease and Mame-Krobo, each armed with an AK 47 assault rifle at about 10:30 am, stressing that Danjuma drove his vehicle towards Ekye Amanfrom to monitor the arrival of the van.

 
Crossfire
The prosecutor said about 20 minutes later, Danjuma signaled the policemen who upon seeing the van, opened fire, killing Sarpong, while another police guard on board the van got injured but managed to return fire, compelling the policemen to flee into the bush.

The policemen called Danjuma who picked them in a bid to escape.

Men were mobilized to arrest the accused persons on board the taxi.

Two AK 47 rifles, 23 rounds of ammunition, a cutlass and two metal bars were retrieved from the taxi.

No Pleas Taken
The plea of the accused persons, who had no lawyers, was not taken when they appeared before the trial magistrate Stephen Owusu.

The magistrate, who took the accused persons through the journey ahead in respect of the trial, said their persona were in the court for committal process.

He said at the end of the process, he might or might not convict them for trial at the high court, depending on the evidence gathered by the prosecution.

Mr. Owusu stated that the accused persons would be remanded into police custody until September 6, 2016 to give the police adequate time to conduct further investigations into the case.

 
No Bail Application
He explained that the charges preferred against the trio hitherto were non-bailable but the Supreme Court, in its ruling, had stated that bail could be granted, adding that they were also at liberty to get lawyers for their defence.

However, the trial magistrate warned that they should not attempt bail in his court because he would dismiss any such application.

Mr. Owusu said that as a committal court, it has no power to grant bail.

Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has been deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital awaiting autopsy.

Three other occupants of the van escaped unhurt.
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson 
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