Armed robber jailed 25 years

May 19, 2011 (Page 3)

AN unemployed man has been sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment with hard labour by the Accra Circuit Court for robbing Reverend Harry Insaidoo of the Assemblies of God Church and his wife.
Emmanuel Karikari was found guilty on two counts of robbery and sentenced accordingly by the court, presided over by Mr Justice C.A. Wilson, a High Court judge who sat with additional responsibility as a Circuit Court judge.
The convict committed the offence at the North Kaneshie Assemblies of God premises on February 28, 2009 after Rev Insaidoo had picked up his wife at the airport.
According to the court, the prosecution was able to lead evidence to prove the convict’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
“The accused was arrested in a similar robbery incident when his accomplices had fled. It hardly needs to be said that the accused person is a notorious gangster and member of the criminal world who deserves a deterrent sentence. I will, therefore, impose the maximum sentence I am capable of,” the judge held.
Karikari and two other accomplices currently on the run trailed Rev Insaidoo and his wife from the airport, held a gun over the head of the church’s caretaker, struck him several times with the butt of the gun and in the process robbed the Reverend and his wife.
The convict and his accomplices assaulted Rev Insaidoo to the extent that his wife had to hurl herself on him to prevent the robbers from shooting her husband.
Karikari and his accomplices robbed the two of a new laptop, a camera, a banking card, a passport, more than £10,000 meant for other people, clothes, among other valuable items.
Based on information that some suspects had been picked for robbery-related offences, Rev Insaidoo and his wife were invited by the Dansoman Police to attend an identification parade on April 2, 2009 which resulted in the Reverend and his wife identifying Karikari as one of the assailants who had brutally assaulted him.
According to the court, the convict did not give any defence that would cast any reasonable doubt over the prosecution’s case, adding, “The terse statement he gave to the police on arrest and his evidence in court about an invitation to join a taxi by a friend about 1 a.m. appear to have been fabricated. I do not find his story reasonably probable.”
It further held that the prosecution was able to prove that a towel and a lighter belonging to Mrs Insaidoo were among the items recovered from the convict during a police swoop.
“On the whole, I find the evidence against the accused person overwhelming. Robbery is a serious offence and carries a minimum of 10 years or more and where it involves the use of violence, the perpetrators deserve a deterrent sentence,” the court held.