Murder suspect escapes in court

Thursday, October 28, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

A 30-year-old unemployed who was being held with three others for allegedly killing a 26-year-old pastor of the Light House Chapel in a robbery operation at Gbawe, a suburb of Accra, has escaped.
Yaw Asamoah, who has been convicted by two separate courts to 20 and 17 years, respectively, for robbery, escaped at the High Court premises around 8 a.m. yesterday.
He is said to hail from Nkankama, near Begoro in the Eastern Region.
The court was expected to pass judgement in another robbery charge levelled against Asamoah but he managed to escape after the prison warden who had brought him to the court premises had removed his handcuffs.
According to eyewitnesses who had also arrived in court to hear their cases, the prison warden went outside to make a telephone call after removing Asamoah's handcuffs.
The normal practice is that handcuffs are removed from the wrists of accused persons only when their cases are called and they are expected to mount the dock.
Eyewitnesses told the Daily Graphic that the trial judge, who began sitting at 9 a.m. had not been informed of the incident until the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Atinga Bio, arrived on the court premises around 12 noon to enquire about the incident.
The witnesses said it was at that point that the judge, Mr Justice C. A. Wilson, got to know of the incident.
Mr Justice Wilson, a High Court judge with additional responsibility as a Circuit Court judge, was expected to deliver judgement on a robbery charge against Asamoah yesterday morning.
According to the eyewitnesses, the police had taken statements from them (eyewitnesses).
When contacted, DCOP Bio confirmed the incident and said the police were investigating the matter.
On January 27, 2010, Asamoah and three others, namely, Kofi Yeboah, 30, Kwabena Ebo, 30, and Osei Prempeh, 23, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and robbery.
They were convicted after they had pleaded guilty and prayed the court to mete out harsh punishment on them for committing the heinous crime of killing the pastor.
The judge further made an order that a pump action gun stolen from a banker, who is a complainant, and which was retrieved from the robbers should be handed over to the owner.
According to the police, Asamoah and his accomplices, armed with a pistol, committed a string of robberies between November and December 2009 and in the process broke into the premises of their victims and made away with a pump action gun, one box of cartridges, car keys, laptops, some mobile phones and cash.
According to the police, Asamoah and his accomplices struck in December 2009, attacked the residents of Gbawe, robbed them of their personal belongings and killed Pastor Nii Addy of the Light House Chapel before fleeing to commit more robberies.
However, luck eluded them on January 6, 2010 when they were arrested following a tip off while preparing to embark on another robbery expedition.