The Accra Central District court has committed for trial at the High court one of two serving police officers accused of attempting to rob a Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) bullion van at Donkorkrom in the Eastern Region.
According to the court presided over by trial Magistrate Stephen Owusu, the accused- General Lance Corporal Solomon Elvis Mensah has a case to answer in respect of the trial.
Solomon in in the dock with one other police officer, General Lance Corporal Daniel Kissi Abrokwah and their civilian accomplice, Hafisu Mohammed, aka Danjuma a taxi driver for robbery.
Charges
The three paddies have been charged with conspiracy to murder while the two police officers face an additional charge of murder.
The three persons are alleged to have also caused the death of one Daniel K. Sarpong, 52, the driver of the GCB Bullion Van with registration GN 1354-15 in the Donkorkrom robbery.
According to the prosecution, the two Lance Corporals 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.
The three, on August 16, 2016 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 prosecution disclosed that on the said day, the policemen discussed the plan to rob the van with Danjuma, a cabbie who is their friend.
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.
Hearing
At the committal proceedings today, Solomon while pleading alibi denied ever being at the scene of the crime on the day of the incident.
Narrating what he claimed to be the reason he is not culpable, Solomon stated that on the said day, he was on duty at the GN Bank at Donkorkrom.
He said while at post at the GN Bank, Kissi arrived with Danjuma, urging him to accompany him to a market in the village to collect a GH¢2,500 debt one Sulley owed him.
According to Solomon they were in Danjuma’s taxi for the market when a police vehicle trailed them informing them that a robbery incident had taken place at Assisi Farms and were the suspects.
He said they were subsequently arrested after initial exchanges with the arresting officers.
In his view, he could not be guilty of the offence because he had worked as a police officer for 10 years at Donkorkrom and could just not imagine himself robbing in the village in his uniform in broad day light.
Discrepancies
Admitting he gave three statements to the police upon his arrest, Solomon indicated that his statements appear different because one of them was taken under duress.
This was after the judge had told him that his comments in court was far different from the three statements he gave to the police the last being August 31 this year.
According to Magistrate Owusu, Solomon in one of his statements to the police admitted the offence insisting that they plotted the robbery when he and Kissi visited Danjumah after smoking marijuana.
In the said statement to the police, Solomon is said to have also told the police that that was not the first time they had planned to rob the GCB van.
No Way
Taking his turn Kissi told the judge that he was not in the right frame of mind to speak to the charges.
Danjumah on the other hand said he is also unwell. He was spotted in court with some whitish substance on his face and body indicative of the fact that he has chickenpox.
The judge as a result adjourned hearing until September 29.
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