An 18-year-old student from Adanwomase Senior High School was found guilty of robbing a teacher and sentenced to 15 years of hard labour by a Circuit Court in Old Tafo, Ashanti Region.
Judge Festus Nukunu handed down the sentence to Gabriel Osei Kwame for his involvement in the robbery of Matilda Boatema, a teacher at Gyaman Pensan Senior High School.
Gabriel admitted to the robbery charge under section 149 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act (Act 29) of 1960.
The incident occurred on the morning of March 4, 2024, around 7:30 am, when Gabriel assaulted Matilda with a jackknife near her residence in Adanwomase, Ashanti Region.
Reports by myjoyonline stated that the SHS student robbed her of her Infinix Hot 9 smartphone valued at GH¢700, cash amounting to GH¢570, as well as rice, stew, and some documents.
Matilda reported the robbery to the Asonomaso police, who promptly responded to the scene.
Upon investigation, the complainant’s bag was discovered abandoned in a nearby bush, though the phone and cash were missing.
The police collected evidence from the scene for further inquiry.
On March 25, 2024, Matilda identified Gabriel in the company of a friend in Adanwomaso, leading to his arrest and subsequent handover to the Asonomaso police.
Initially, Gabriel denied any involvement in the robbery but later confessed to the police.
According to the police, the accused admitted to robbing the complainant and disclosed that he sold the stolen phone at Adum PZ for GH¢250.
State prosecutor, Inspector Alfred Aruk, informed the court that Gabriel was unable to assist the police in recovering the phone.
Following the investigation, he was charged with robbery and brought before the court.